Angra Mainyu
Arc Two - Supremacy - Part Five
----------------------------
Tearing his gaze from the blond walking across the street, Schuldig glanced at Farfarello with a raised brow. "A properly trained dog would not touch his master without their expressed permission," the telepath snapped, slapping the other man's hand away. "Something you do not have." With a glare, he turned back to watching the people walk by.
The little lambs were, as of yet, blissfully unaware of the evil that walked among them. And he and Farfarello were being sent to keep an eye on her until Brad deigned to joined them for Gods knew what. What a message to send to something that could probably snuff their lives out without blinking: that it needed to be watched.
Too many restrictions and a child was bound to rebel. Schuldig knew that from experience and he doubted it was any different for a newly raised demon. However, an order from Crawford could not be ignored. So, with no small amount of trepidation, the German pushed away from the wall and began walking towards the Koneko no Sume ie.
//Braddums wouldn't know what to do with 'company' if it jumped up and bit him in the ass,// he remarked, glancing back at Farf, making sure the man was following him. //No, our job is to keep a discreet eye on our demoness and to ensure that she remains unharmed. As if anything could touch her.//
--
The technique had been cast imperfectly.
That was all that Hisoka could think of as the light-formed barrier around the host body shattered, sending the energy out and away - or, rather, back straight at him. It was all he truly had time to think, considering the speed at which the energy was returning. There was no time to even utter a curse, or even move away before it would arrive, carrying with it the separating feel of the spell he had cast. At least the other, Ran, was out of the way of it, leaving only himself to bear the brunt of the blow. That was a small comfort, but present nonetheless; no one deserved to pay for his failure in casting the Reimaken but himself.
Letting his balance falter back for a moment, Hisoka followed that quickly with his weight, resting one foot a half-step behind him in an attempt to brace himself. Instinctively he pushed his hands to the front, as though to shove back the strike before it could hit, and a barrier flickered into existence, parting the dust particles that were still settling over the ground from the demon's prior attack. His defense, however, did little against the reflection, which simply passed through it with the ease of water through a sift. There was little a Shinigami barrier could do against pure energy, and even that effect was far different when the energy was the caster's own, sometimes taking that defensive energy and adding it to its own. It was akin to trying to douse a fire with a flame-thrower, and equally as ineffective.
Seeing the flicker of the barrier's collapse, Hisoka narrowed jade eyes and held himself steady, crossing his arms before his face in an attempt to hold back the damage that was the Reimaken. Feeling the stiff breeze that was carried back with that power, the youth almost faltered a step forward at the lack of the reflection following it. Staring intently forward, he noticed the faint shimmer of a second barrier, something clearly from another hand meant to help him. Had he the time, Hisoka might have tried to discern who that assistance was from, but time was not his luxury to have. He could feel the press of the reflected technique creeping closer, pressure in the extreme being thrown on the barrier still standing.
Then, with a snap of swiftly vacated space, the barrier collapsed, taking with it a portion of the Reimaken's force while the remainder slammed hard into the Shinigami. Off balance from the curious pause that the barrier had given, Hisoka was thrown off his feet, hitting the ground some distance back from his former position. Such was just as well, since it dropped him from the path of the last trace of the Reimaken, reducing by half what he would have felt had he stayed standing to endure the entirety of it.
Feeling, rather than seeing, the dust settled around him, his shoulder hurting from hitting the cement and trying to tear it up with his simple flesh, Hisoka simply lay still for a moment. To say the breath was knocked out of him was an understatement - it was more like half of his soul had been knocked free, and he needed a few minutes to gather it back together.
"Don't hurt her," he muttered softly under his breath. "Great plan..."
--
With the barrier now gone and falling around them, Youji was finally able to see what was going on. He paled as he saw Aya... both of them and their two new guides caught in the middle of what looked to be a fight. It was pure and utter chaos falling around them. Aya-chan was... NOT... Aya-chan that much was clear to him, the fiendish smirk, the wave after wave of power coming at them and going to her. He could see the anguish in Aya's face as he felt powerless to do anything. He knew there'd be a matching look on Ken as he watched his crush look helpless.
As Hisoka fell back, and the possessed girl still giggling as if they were mere toys, Youji did something that was rare even for him.
He lost his temper.
He could count on one hand the times he'd let his temper and his carefully bottled emotions escape him. Once had caused him to hit Ken. The other had led him to kill Asuka.
And now...
He ran full tilt into the middle of the battle, intent on stopping it by any means necessary. This had to stop now. They were over powered and out matched and as of right now they couldn't fight what they didn't know. And the demon before them was a complete unknown to him. He didn't know if they could die again, but he'd already been killed by one psychotic demon. He didn't need to make that twice in the space of just as many days.
Youji ignored Ken's attempts to stop him and before he knew it his wire was in his hand and he felt a heat burning around him and he did the only thing that came naturally at that moment. He shouted his desire at the top of his lungs.
"STOOOOP!!!!"
And then there was silence.
Ken stood and looked around him. The sudden silence was almost too loud. His hands rose to his ears, then fell slowly at the absurdity of the gesture. He felt caught in half a breeze like he was only half there, but to look at himself, he seemed fine. Pale sea green eyes looked up at the sky and blinked. His jaw dropped as he saw a bird hovering in mid flight above his head. He moved to the side just in case the bird decided to shit on him. Beyond that though, the clouds had ceased their movement.
Across the street a woman was throwing her trash out the window the mess stuck in its decent to the pavement. Next door a shop was opening its owner sweeping the walk in front of his door. The cloud of dust at the end of his broom no longer moving.
In fact... nothing moved. Nothing human anyway, for he could move. Eyes wide he looked at his friend. "What the fuck did you just do?!"
Youji shrugged, equally perplexed by what had just happened. He simply shrugged. "Fuck if I know."
--
Shoulders rolling back into a shrug, Farfarello walked slightly to the side and behind Schuldig, a white shadow trailing in the German's wake. Pale lips curled back from equally pale gums, a soft chuckling escaping his sharp teeth. Whether it was laughter towards the snappish reply of his teammate or laughter at the absurdity of their situation, Farfarello was not going to explain. As much as he enjoyed seeing the last of hope dying in his victim's eyes, he enjoyed more to keep people off balance. Mind games were just as fun as physical games and left no trace while physical games did.
If he was stupid enough to leave a trace that was. Just because he was insane did not mean that he was dumb as well.
//You are over-estimating the power of the Demonchild, Schuldig,// Farfarello replied, his voice cold and still. //There are always forces stronger, and powers much higher. Instead of being brash, one should be smart and outthink those that may be better. The kittens we let win, but even so, they did give us a good run for those wins. There is always something better.//
His movements slowed, his single brandy colored eye narrowing, his head rising as he all but sniffed the air. Reaching out a hand, he brushed it across Schuldig's neck. That part that knew when Kritiker was spying on them and where to find Birman from all the other cars parked in the driveway of the Este hospital was awaking.
//I would advise not to move much closer...//
--
At least now he had a little breathing space Tsuzuki thought, recoiling the whip of energy back to him. Just enough of a pause so he can do something to help his partner whose fallen form he could see from the corner of his eyes. It did not look good for them though whatever he did, Hisoka was down for the moment while the new Shinigami's did not even had the basic training to harness their own innate talents. It seemed like a loosing battle but they were so good at them, winning when others thought they could not. They would get out of this one too.
"Not really, but I doubt that you are a lady that needs impressing," Tsuzuki said lightly, readying another energy whip to keep her off balance and from truly trying a real attack. Also to gain enough time for Hisoka to regain his feet and try the Reimaken again.
Then a voice raw with anger shouted a single word into the tense battlefield air, freezing everything. Or almost everything.
Blinking at the girl on top of the phone booth, her dark hair in mid-motion from her movements, the fabric of her dress as still as a piece of still life, Tsuzuki glanced over at the two new arrivals to the little battle. Time. One of them could do something about time. But with newly awakened powers, they did not last long until control and understanding was gained. So... Time for a change in plans.
First thing was the possessed girl. From seemingly nowhere, Tsuzuki held a strip of kanji on paper between his forefinger and thumb of his right hand. An ofuda, his particular skill that few others could match in the Shinigami ranks, like the Twelve that he could also call upon when he needed their strength. Murmuring the words to focus his need into the strip of paper, he threw it at the still form of the dark haired girl. Bands of light wrapped around her, starting from where the ofuda clung to the skin of her neck into a web work of bindings to hold the girl still once the time freeze ended. Hopefully that would give Hisoka the needed time to try to separate the demon from the girl.
--
"Interesting," Tatsumi said softly, pushing up his glasses as he headed out to Hisoka who was still on the ground. Immaculately dressed in a fine brown suit, the treasurer of the Summoner's Division held his usual formal air as he did what he did best - appear out of nowhere. Although pleasantly surprised with the power base Youji had just displayed, Tatsumi didn't seem to show it outside of his one word comment. Perhaps if they were meeting under better circumstances, he would be more polite and compliment the blond on his unintentional but beneficial use of his powers, however the situation was less than agreeable and the Shinigami were already treading on shaky ground. As Tsuzuki knew, Tatsumi only interfered when the situation seriously required it of him. The short-time partner of the treasurer would also know that when Tatsumi -did- get involved in an affair such as this, he was a dangerous person to tick off and for good reason. The man's mean streak could be as great as his power. This time the treasurer felt the need to offer his assistance immediately as Muraki was in the vicinity, Weiß was still inexperienced and Watari had yet to arrive. All was not boding well for the Shinigami.
The shadow master mentally sighed as he thought of Watari and his inability to follow common logic. He would bet money (well, perhaps if he was extremely drunk) that the annoying doctor had found his own way of following the carefully laid out directions Tatsumi had given him earlier. 'Idiot... I am surrounded by idiots...' he muttered in his head as he came to kneel beside Hisoka.
"Kurosaki-kun, you have outdone yourself," he said, looking down on him with more concern than scorn as he offered the boy his hand. The fact that he had tried this at an inopportune time could be addressed later when Tatsumi had all of the facts. Right now he just wanted to make sure those on his payroll weren't getting their heads bashed in by the schoolgirl from hell and the silver haired pervert on the roof.
--
Any lesser man would have been fighting for some semblance of understanding and tranquility to return to the situation so they could figure out what was going on, and then decide which way to go. Ran just simply watched all of the events happen at rapid fire before his eyes, his fist unclenching as the barrier he'd inadvertently created before Hisoka shattered, some of the energy dissipating from the force of the shockwave of the reflected Reimaken, the rest returning from whence it came. Hisoka's own pure spiritual energy. He wasn't sure quite what he'd done other than wish something like that would happen, but it could be further inquired upon once some calmness returned to their lives.
And then it all just... stopped.
Peculiar. Not truly all of it, but as he saw his blond teammate rush out and scream out, Ran had the sensation of things slowing down around him, but not himself included. It was almost like watching a movie which is shifting into the dramatic slow motion effect. One is just watching it happen, not being affected by it at all. Another thing he didn't know why it happened, or how it happened... he -really- disliked being unaware of what was going on. At least his visible teammates were unaffected by the sudden apparent time freeze. Seeing the dark brunette approach the fallen blond unnerved him, being completely unaware of who Seiichiro Tatsumi was. But since he was unaffected by the momentary pause in the life around them... and the only one who did seem to be actually frozen was the demon housed in his sister.
Deciding to take that as a good omen for the newly arrived male, Ran found something else that needed his attention and his observation was now highly keened on a certain fact. He could clearly see Ken and Youji... so where was their youngest and the longest-term member of Weiß? A quick scan of the street confirmed to him what he was already aware of, Omi wasn't down here. Knowing the boy's specialty in the weaponry he chose Ran instinctively glanced up to see if he had chosen a higher and safer vantage point to observe from, while the closer range members of Weiß came out to the street. Sure enough he caught a quick glimpse of a head of blond hair peeking out from over the edge of the roof, Omi atop the Koneko and watching what was happening, crossbow most likely in hand.
Which brought a sudden realization on Ran that he muchly disliked... in this entire situation he'd been unarmed. A rare thing really for him but he'd followed Hisoka after just sitting out on his fire escape. Glancing at Youji and Ken for a moment the redhead turned and went into the alley quickly to move up the fire escape to join Omi on the roof, that being the quickest way up which still left him able to watch the proceedings and not seem as if he were just abandoning the conflict.
Perched on the ledge of the roof, the long compound bow still held ready in his hands, Omi had a rather bird's eye view of the entire situation as it unfolded. Even without a reply to his status request, the sapphire-eyed archer was able to piece together bits of what was happening. Not quite enough to realize the source of half the paranormal occurrences being loosed before Koneko, but enough to know what each bit of oddness was doing and who it seemed to be. Still, from his vantage point, there was little that he could do to help the situation. Aya-chan was not high on his list to shoot with an arrow, despite the oddities of what she appeared to be doing, or capable of doing for that matter. Until he had confirmation from the others, he did not want to risk the safety of a teammate's sister.
Bringing his soft blue gaze back up to the roof, he narrowed his eyes curiously at the other male, the white-clothed one he'd reported earlier. The man's long coat had seemed to halt in the air, mid-ruffle flared out partly from his body, which held an equal stillness to it. It was as odd as watching the bird below, wings flapping mere seconds before, suddenly halted as neatly as a pause pressed to a DVD in play. What exactly had happened was up for debate, but he had suspicions that it had something to do with time.
Of course, the concept of time stopping was just absurd.
Wasn't it?
Shaking his head, the youth looked to the street again, half-dismissing the other rooftop observer as held back for the moment. Catching sight of a flash of red, he easily spotted Ran's ascent up the fire escape. Smiling softly, whether it was relief that the other was okay, or perhaps relief that someone was coming to join him on the rooftop and increase security in that sense, Omi leaned back on his heel. Holding to the bow and notched arrow with one hand, a feat managed through much practice, he removed the headset from his ear and placed it on the ledge beside him. Another second was taken to remove the unfamiliar weight of the gun claimed from Hisoka the night before, placing it by the headset. Given how Ran was leaving the street level, without orders or notice, Omi assumed that the redhead had no weapon of use within those close quarters. All of Weiß knew, on varying levels, that it was sometimes better to withdraw when unarmed than to fight the losing battle. Being sensible, Ran was probably holding to that thought and moving to where he would be of more use.
Settling again, room still left for Ran to join him, Omi again fit his hands to the bow, drawing the string to a light pressure. His aim wavered between Aya-chan's form and the newcomer below, uncertain of exactly what was going on. Without his headset, he couldn't ask for another report of what was going on; then again, given the silence of earlier, he figured that the other two had less of a clue than he did. Wasting breath confirming that was not a priority either.
Hearing the slight creak as the metal ladder to the roof was reached, and catching the light step that belonged to the katana-wielder, Omi glanced to the side. "What's going on down there?" he asked quietly, slight confusion making a home in his tones.
Footnotes:
And here begins the upload of the rest of this arc. Be happy and proud of us, we're so efficient lately. ^^;