Chapter 9: Alliances
"I am Tengoku Hitokara, Shireikan of the Akuma Ryoshi."
The large human in heavy armour speaks loudly enough to be heard by all in the cave.
"You have already met my officers." He points over to the seishin with the iron mallet, the one that had been captured. "That is Shudoshi Hokasekai." Shudoshi makes it a point not to acknowledge the introduction. He points over to the one with the strange knives, the one that sprouted wings. "Tejina-shi Shiranai." Tejina-shi bows slightly. Indicating the only female in the group, he says, "Yoake Noboru." She bows respectfully to the humans. "Taiyoryu Senshiyi." Tengoku looks around, but the last member of his group is not to be seen.
Yoake almost has a sheepish look to her face. "You'll have to excuse Taiyoryu. He's not much of a people person."
"That's okay," Yahiko says, "We've already met the Akumu."
"What did you call him?" Tengoku sounds genuinely offended by the comment, but doesn't even look at Yahiko. Instead, everybody finds him looking at Shudoshi. Forcing himself to drop the comment, he urges them to follow him back to his 'office'.
Everybody hesitates for a moment, unsure of what to do. When Kenshin follows, though, so do all.
They find his 'office' to be little more than a cleaned and organized section of the cave. Taking a seat, he indicates that everyone should. Once all are seated, Tengoku continues.
"You are wondering why you are all here." It was not so much a question as it was an acknowledgment of their curiosity. "Quite frankly, I am kind of curious about that, too. Taiyoryu was only to bring Shudoshi back, not all of you."
"There is a storm coming," the voice comes from the shadows, making everyone start, including Tengoku. "As they are more useful alive, I thought it best to keep them that way."
"Kuso, Taiyoryu! I wish you wouldn't do that." Tengoku says. "The others have a hard enough time accepting you. If you keep doing stuff like that..."
"They will not accept me, either way. You know it. Are there any immediate question for me? I need to check the area before the storm gets here."
"Nothing that cannot wait." Tengoku says. "Go do your search."
The darkly cloaked figure ducks out of the cave, barely seen on the way out.
"Well.." Tengoku starts.
"You want us for allies." Kenshin asks. "Why? Against what?"
"Aa. I want you for an ally. Why? That is a story. Some of it will be hard to believe."
"Oi, baka." Sano says grumpily. "We were just abducted by demon-things. Your story is harder to believe than that?"
"Maybe. Have you ever heard of Atarashiikami?" When everybody shows they've never heard of him, Tengoku continues. "He is from another land, one that cannot be reached through normal means. He has the powers of a god and is corrupt to the core."
He looks out to the others and sees little more than confusion on their face. He continues anyway. "When he came to this land, he began tempting the young fighters to his side through powerful dreams the play at the weaknesses of his target. If one had a fear, the dreams would play right at it."
When everybody exchanges glances with each other, he knows that they have experienced the tempting.
"When we arrived, I sent Taiyoryu to scout for potential allies against Atarashiikami."
"Why us?" Sano asks.
Tengoku takes a deep breath for a moment, then releases it before speaking. "To be honest, you were not our first choice. Taiyoryu's reports recommended one.." he pauses to read a piece of parchment, "Saitou Hajime."
A slight gasp escapes from Megumi. Tengoku continues. "The dark one seems to feel your non-killing policy would..." he pauses, as if looking for the right word. "interfere with what needs done."
I had him followed to a small village not far from here, where he fought Atarashiikami's men, aided by..." he pauses again, looking once more at the sheet. "Shinomori Aoshi. They drove the warriors out of the village. That was the last we heard."
Again, glances are exchanged. "If his warriors are already defeated, then what is the worry?" Sanosuke wonders aloud.
"It was one small group routed." Tengoku says. "Besides this, Atarashiikami still has his general. Some one named Shishio."
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They had been following the trail of the cultists for several hours and had stopped to rest for a few hours. The sun, now halfway through its climb, shines brightly, dispelling most of the shadows around and making the trail obvious.
Movement to their right brings them both up short. Who ever it is has no real skill for stealth. More movement to their left tells them that there is more than one. A lot more than one. Aoshi thinks, listening to the rustling through the woods in, seemingly, all directions.
A streak of brown fur can be seen for a moment as something skirts them.
"A giant rat?" Saitou asks, wondering if Aoshi saw the same thing.
"It was upright." Aoshi gives as his answer.
"And held a sword," Saitou responds, unable to shake the feeling that this... creature was going to be something neither of them had seen before.
Then, there was no more time to talk, as the creatures descended upon them. Barely three feet tall, the creatures have scaly hides of dark, rusty brown. The smell of a wet dogs and stagnant water. Their eyes glow bright red and two tan small horns rest on their forehead. Torn cloths covers their bodies and long, rat-like tails extend behind them.
With their torn clothing, rat-like tails, and their dog-like yapping, Saitou finds he has a hard time taking them seriously. Even as the first two reach him, they fall quickly to his sword, reinforcing that opinion. Looking to Shinomori, he sees that Aoshi had slain two more, easily.
Three more charge in from behind Saitou. Waiting for the last moment, the inspector spins to the side, removing the head of one with a quick swing of his blade. The creatures skid to a stop, turning to face him once again. Charging in once more, one creature falls as Saitou slides to the right, keeping it between him and the other creature, and thrusting hard at the creatures neck. With the beast still attached to his sword, he turns with the monster as it slides past him. With a quick snap of his wrist, Saitou sends the beasts dead body at it's companion. As it steps to the side to avoid the body, it runs straight into the sharp edge of the former Shinsen Gumi's sword.
Aoshi, too, was having a hard time considering the strange creatures a threat. Their look and actions seem more fitting for a comedic theatrical show than a monster to inspire fear. With only one kodachi out, Aoshi spins left, then right, then left again. With each spin, he not only moved away from an attack, but also left a body on the ground.
These creatures are pathetic. Aoshi thinks, as a handful of them come at Saitou and himself and die quickly.
It's then, that Aoshi hears it. Looking around, he find over a dozen more of the creatures around them, but that was no worry to him. What catches his attention is what stands behind the creatures.
The gray-green skin of the new creatures is contrasted by the course black hair. It's low jutting forehead and snout look out of place against it's short, pointed, wolf-like ears and it's sharp fangs that protrude from their lower lip. Their eyes look human enough, but for their reddish tint to them. With most nearing six feet in height, they stand out against the first creatures to attack.
They are dressed in older armour, that would have been common shortly before the foreigners brought their rifles, but it is rusted and not well cared for. Their swords, also in poor condition, hang low to the ground because of their stooping posture. Aoshi looks around, finding that there are almost as many of this new creature as there are of the strange, rust-brown ones that first appeared.
Grunting in a strange, barking language, the move forward with the smaller creatures leading the way.
"I am Tengoku Hitokara, Shireikan of the Akuma Ryoshi."
The large human in heavy armour speaks loudly enough to be heard by all in the cave.
"You have already met my officers." He points over to the seishin with the iron mallet, the one that had been captured. "That is Shudoshi Hokasekai." Shudoshi makes it a point not to acknowledge the introduction. He points over to the one with the strange knives, the one that sprouted wings. "Tejina-shi Shiranai." Tejina-shi bows slightly. Indicating the only female in the group, he says, "Yoake Noboru." She bows respectfully to the humans. "Taiyoryu Senshiyi." Tengoku looks around, but the last member of his group is not to be seen.
Yoake almost has a sheepish look to her face. "You'll have to excuse Taiyoryu. He's not much of a people person."
"That's okay," Yahiko says, "We've already met the Akumu."
"What did you call him?" Tengoku sounds genuinely offended by the comment, but doesn't even look at Yahiko. Instead, everybody finds him looking at Shudoshi. Forcing himself to drop the comment, he urges them to follow him back to his 'office'.
Everybody hesitates for a moment, unsure of what to do. When Kenshin follows, though, so do all.
They find his 'office' to be little more than a cleaned and organized section of the cave. Taking a seat, he indicates that everyone should. Once all are seated, Tengoku continues.
"You are wondering why you are all here." It was not so much a question as it was an acknowledgment of their curiosity. "Quite frankly, I am kind of curious about that, too. Taiyoryu was only to bring Shudoshi back, not all of you."
"There is a storm coming," the voice comes from the shadows, making everyone start, including Tengoku. "As they are more useful alive, I thought it best to keep them that way."
"Kuso, Taiyoryu! I wish you wouldn't do that." Tengoku says. "The others have a hard enough time accepting you. If you keep doing stuff like that..."
"They will not accept me, either way. You know it. Are there any immediate question for me? I need to check the area before the storm gets here."
"Nothing that cannot wait." Tengoku says. "Go do your search."
The darkly cloaked figure ducks out of the cave, barely seen on the way out.
"Well.." Tengoku starts.
"You want us for allies." Kenshin asks. "Why? Against what?"
"Aa. I want you for an ally. Why? That is a story. Some of it will be hard to believe."
"Oi, baka." Sano says grumpily. "We were just abducted by demon-things. Your story is harder to believe than that?"
"Maybe. Have you ever heard of Atarashiikami?" When everybody shows they've never heard of him, Tengoku continues. "He is from another land, one that cannot be reached through normal means. He has the powers of a god and is corrupt to the core."
He looks out to the others and sees little more than confusion on their face. He continues anyway. "When he came to this land, he began tempting the young fighters to his side through powerful dreams the play at the weaknesses of his target. If one had a fear, the dreams would play right at it."
When everybody exchanges glances with each other, he knows that they have experienced the tempting.
"When we arrived, I sent Taiyoryu to scout for potential allies against Atarashiikami."
"Why us?" Sano asks.
Tengoku takes a deep breath for a moment, then releases it before speaking. "To be honest, you were not our first choice. Taiyoryu's reports recommended one.." he pauses to read a piece of parchment, "Saitou Hajime."
A slight gasp escapes from Megumi. Tengoku continues. "The dark one seems to feel your non-killing policy would..." he pauses, as if looking for the right word. "interfere with what needs done."
I had him followed to a small village not far from here, where he fought Atarashiikami's men, aided by..." he pauses again, looking once more at the sheet. "Shinomori Aoshi. They drove the warriors out of the village. That was the last we heard."
Again, glances are exchanged. "If his warriors are already defeated, then what is the worry?" Sanosuke wonders aloud.
"It was one small group routed." Tengoku says. "Besides this, Atarashiikami still has his general. Some one named Shishio."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They had been following the trail of the cultists for several hours and had stopped to rest for a few hours. The sun, now halfway through its climb, shines brightly, dispelling most of the shadows around and making the trail obvious.
Movement to their right brings them both up short. Who ever it is has no real skill for stealth. More movement to their left tells them that there is more than one. A lot more than one. Aoshi thinks, listening to the rustling through the woods in, seemingly, all directions.
A streak of brown fur can be seen for a moment as something skirts them.
"A giant rat?" Saitou asks, wondering if Aoshi saw the same thing.
"It was upright." Aoshi gives as his answer.
"And held a sword," Saitou responds, unable to shake the feeling that this... creature was going to be something neither of them had seen before.
Then, there was no more time to talk, as the creatures descended upon them. Barely three feet tall, the creatures have scaly hides of dark, rusty brown. The smell of a wet dogs and stagnant water. Their eyes glow bright red and two tan small horns rest on their forehead. Torn cloths covers their bodies and long, rat-like tails extend behind them.
With their torn clothing, rat-like tails, and their dog-like yapping, Saitou finds he has a hard time taking them seriously. Even as the first two reach him, they fall quickly to his sword, reinforcing that opinion. Looking to Shinomori, he sees that Aoshi had slain two more, easily.
Three more charge in from behind Saitou. Waiting for the last moment, the inspector spins to the side, removing the head of one with a quick swing of his blade. The creatures skid to a stop, turning to face him once again. Charging in once more, one creature falls as Saitou slides to the right, keeping it between him and the other creature, and thrusting hard at the creatures neck. With the beast still attached to his sword, he turns with the monster as it slides past him. With a quick snap of his wrist, Saitou sends the beasts dead body at it's companion. As it steps to the side to avoid the body, it runs straight into the sharp edge of the former Shinsen Gumi's sword.
Aoshi, too, was having a hard time considering the strange creatures a threat. Their look and actions seem more fitting for a comedic theatrical show than a monster to inspire fear. With only one kodachi out, Aoshi spins left, then right, then left again. With each spin, he not only moved away from an attack, but also left a body on the ground.
These creatures are pathetic. Aoshi thinks, as a handful of them come at Saitou and himself and die quickly.
It's then, that Aoshi hears it. Looking around, he find over a dozen more of the creatures around them, but that was no worry to him. What catches his attention is what stands behind the creatures.
The gray-green skin of the new creatures is contrasted by the course black hair. It's low jutting forehead and snout look out of place against it's short, pointed, wolf-like ears and it's sharp fangs that protrude from their lower lip. Their eyes look human enough, but for their reddish tint to them. With most nearing six feet in height, they stand out against the first creatures to attack.
They are dressed in older armour, that would have been common shortly before the foreigners brought their rifles, but it is rusted and not well cared for. Their swords, also in poor condition, hang low to the ground because of their stooping posture. Aoshi looks around, finding that there are almost as many of this new creature as there are of the strange, rust-brown ones that first appeared.
Grunting in a strange, barking language, the move forward with the smaller creatures leading the way.