WORLD OF DARKNESS: THE SECOND AGE OF MAGIC
THE THIRD SCROLL
ALLEYWAYS
The little house appeared broken down and abandoned, and was reputed to be haunted. The garden was unkempt, the windows shuttered and the roof looked like it would break down any minute. It would have been a perfect haunt for the restless dead, if not for the warding charms pasted on each corner and entrance inside the house itself, which looked nothing like its outward facade.
Hikari opened her eyes in this house, grateful for the Yang that infused her being and allowed her to mimic the warmth of the living. She was alert instantly, taking in her surroundings. She had moved her haven to this place, one of Kaze's safehouses. Twilight colored the world orange, as the last of the sun's rays disappeared from the world. She smiled, and pressed closer to the fox-changer, letting his warm skin touch as much of hers as anatomy allowed.
"You're finally awake." Kaze said, eyeing her from half-closed eyelids. He could walk around day and night unhindered, but his habits were mostly nocturnal. In the few days Hikari had spent in this house, she'd gone to sleep and awoke in the kitsune's arms, his presence a small comfort against the unending nightmares her P'o fed her during her sleep. If he left her side during the daylight hours, Hikari never knew.
"Yessss." She hissed playfully, climbing on top of him, and resting her head in his shoulder.
"We have stuff to do tonight." He chuckled, playing with her short hair.
"It can wait." Hikari mumbled.
"Maybe... night life doesn't truly start until a few hours yet. But we need to hmphgbrghh..."
Hikari achieved what few people had ever done: she shut Kaze up, covering his babbling mouth with hers.
"I said..." She smiled mischievously while shifting position on top of him. "It can wait."
"Uh-huh..." Kaze nodded amusedly.
---
And so they abandoned the house through the trap door about an hour later, heading for the seedier side of the city and dressed for it. Kaze had abandoned his casual dress and now wore beaten and overused clothes befitting his roguish activities. Hikari... she dressed as she always deed, enticing and brash. Her arm around the kitsune's not doing anything to dissipate their dangerous look; quite the contrary, since whether they were a force to be reckoned with by themselves, together they looked like a barely contained natural disaster.
They blend into the lower districts perfectly.
"Police doesn't care about missing children." Kaze spoke low. "But the Yakuza might; they keep order where the law won't, and if they were not involved with Nakamura, they're bound to be pissed at him."
"But if they were..." Hikari answered.
"Then we're in deep poo-poo." The ninja scratched his head. "My people haven't been able to get anything out of the children; their minds are yet to heal. And..." He let the phrase trail off.
"And...?" The beautiful girl tugged on his arm.
"Nothing. It won't affect us."
"Kaze... please, tell me." Hikari was surprised and worried by the uncharacteristic frown of preocupation on her companion's face.
"Lord Tenryu disapproves of our... association." He said, looking straight ahead.
"But the opinion of one courtesan won't matter." She tried to reassure him.
"Oh... Lord Tenryu is not a simple courtesan... he's one of the Middle Dragons, and my Court tends to follow his words very closely."
"Is that... bad for you?" The undead girl unconsciously separated a few inches from Kaze.
He smiled, pulling her back. "As long as we deliver results and catch the bastard behind those machines, they can't do anything but glare. And I don't keep their company that much, anyway."
Hikari nodded, but still with a pang of guilt over the ways she had imposed on his life already. She noticed the change in the crowd as soon as they entered the lower district. Most of these people were criminals of a sort or another; some were Yakuza-run, others had governmental tolerance. Very few were even partially innocent.
They were amid human wilderness, and they were not the only predators roaming the night.
Though part of her mind was still precoccupied thinking about the news Kaze had given to her, the news about the disapproval, she kept looking through the people walking past them. She was looking for someone in particular and she knew that this one might be able to help them.
But still, the words rang in her mind and brought up the thoughts of how her elders would look upon this relationship. She didn't have much contact to her court, but she still showed herself there regularily, if only because it was expected of her. She was an elder of her kind after all.
How would they react...
She was almost certain that it would be almost the same reaction as the one Kaze had experienced, maybe even stronger disapproval.
But did she care?
She had always respected her elders for the deeds they had done, never for just their status and she knew that she was not un-respected in the court either, since she was one of the best warriors the Kuei-jin in the immediate area had, if not the best.
But all this respect wouldn't change their opinion...
And then her thoughts were ripped back into reality as her eyes locked on the man she had been looking for.
He was rather tall for a japanese, about 1.79 meters with short-cropped, black hair and harsh, life-signed features. His skin was rather ashen and seemed a bit sunken around the eyes and Hikari knew why that was the case.
Wearing casual, fitting clothes, this man was a being like herself, following another Dharmic path, one that rather opposed her own, but she had still found ways to let some sort of connection form which had always granted her information about Yakuza activities especially in the supernatural.
"Well hello there Jin-kun." she said with a light smile on her lips.
The man turned to look at her completely, black eyes gazing into hers fora moment before a weak smile came to his lips.
"Ah, Hikari-chan, you found yourself a new playmate, I see?" he said with mild amusement in his voice.
Hikari herself answered before Kaze could say anything.
"It's not that simple this time Jin. May I introduce, this is Kaze, my companion." she nodded to Kaze.
"And Kaze, meet Jin Akaiwa, the best source for information on certain activities we are looking into."
The two supernatural beings eyes each other and Hikari knew that they didn't just look through eyes alone.
"You took one of HIS kind for a companion?" Jin asked with more than mild surprise and a certain tone of disgust in his voice.
"Yes, one of MY kind."
This time Kaze didn't give Hikari a chance to speak before him. He eyed the other Kuei-jin with obvious distrust.
"Oh geeze you two, could you cut it out for a moment. I just need some information from you Jin and you know you owe me something!" Hikari said with a light annoyance in her words. This meeting was only a light appetizer for what was to come when the court would find out about Kaze and her.
"Information about what?" Jin asked finally, turning to look at Hikari.
"A guy named Nakamura. I know you are with the high-ups in the Yakuza, so if anything of greater importance is discussed, you would know. Did you ever hear of the name?"
Kaze stood, watching the other Kuei-jin quietly, realizing just how different this one and Hikari were. That ones body was full of Yin, deathly energy and he seemed arrogant beyond comprehension. But then again, he also knew that his own kind didn't act much different most of the time.
Still he disdained of creatures like him, loathing and craving for death, embracing it.
Still, this was Hikari's best contact and even himself couldn't object that it was logical to ask this Jin-guy, since he was a high-up in Yakuza politics.
"Nakamura..." The Yin-heavy vampire thought. "It does ring a bell. But you know there's a price tag attached, Hikari-chan."
"I didn' think otherwise. But what is the price this time?" she retorted quietly.
"Let's see..." He eyed Kaze. "A pint of his blood."
"No way!" she exclaimed edging nearer to Kaze. "He's my companion!"
Jin chuckled. "Companion... Blood of your blood, no?" He said. "Or haven't you bedded him yet?... must be the fleas."
Kaze was quiet, but his eyes shone.
"Remember what happened last time you angered me?" Her eyes glowed dangerously as she spoke.
"How could I forget?" The kuei-jin smirked. "But that time I didn't have something you wanted."
"You're willing to take the risk that you are our only source?" She grinned a demonic smile.
"Regarding Nakamura... yes." The other monster stood with deathlike calm. "If not, I will spread the word and no one will talk to you."
"Then we'll have to find other ways. You won't have his blood!" She growled low and already turned to go.
"Wait." Kaze stopped her. "I guess his information is not so good, if he's asking for something so cheap and useless."
"No tricks, hengeyokai." Jin said, and Hikari realized that he had no way to know what kind of beast Kaze was; the other vampire didn't know he was dealing with a kitsune.
"Still, you're my love." she said quietly. "You..mean too much to me. Even your... cheap blood."
Kaze squeezed her hand, hidden in the folds of his jacket. "You could have my blood, kuei-jin, but it would serve you nothing. Kitsune blood is cursed, as many Kinjin know when trying to drink from us. They burn so prettily." The human-shaped fox grinned, and Jin appeared less sure.
"So see, there you have it. Change your price." Hikari said quietly.
Jin scowled, thinking.
"I mean." Kaze added. "I can always make more blood, even if it rots you when you take it."
Hikari nodded quietly and eyed the other supernatural being, waiting for a response.
"Have it your way."Jin spat. "10 golds. The information is not that good."
"I knew I could trust to get things from you." She handed him his payment.
"The mortal was corrupt; he was buying children from China and Korea. We never found out what he did with them. There was a ship, from America, moving merchandise to his mansion, and we think they shipped some of the children out."
"So the Yakuza had nothing to do with him?"
"The pathetic husk was authority." Jin continued. "He'd commit seppuku before dealing with us."
"Or sell his soul to Yomi." Kaze said. With disdain, Jin nodded.
"Any idea who might be in the background? Or was he acting alone?"
"He was dealing with a Chin'ta, but I hear he exploded." Jun chuckled. "Then there's that ship; same one for five years. The 'Brave Explorer 3'. Stupid name for a ship."
"Hmmm. Anything else?"
"Not for ten gold." His face was impassive. "I'd ask for a night of your Yang-doings, but your dog would bite me."
"Sorry, this doggy doesn't eat carrion."
"Yep and it's good this way." Grinning softly, she tugged lightly on Kaze's arm. "Thanks for the help!"
"I will report to the court about this." Jin said somberly.
"My people will talk to your people." Kaze replied insolently, being pulled away by Hikari. "And you know how those parties turn out."
The kitsune put an arm around Hikari's shoulders, laughing softly.
"Sorry my sweet. But he's the best contact I have in these matters." She said after they were a bit away from Jin.
"Nice guy." He answered. "Would've teased him out of his socks if we didn't need him."
"I know." She smiled softly and leaned over to kiss him lightly. "Not all of us can be like me."
"Fortunately." He stopped and held her chin high. "I wouldn't know from where to choose." He kissed her before she could reply.
"Don't say such things. I'm embarrassed." She smiled softly after the kiss. "So, what now?"
"Find this 'Brave Explorer 3'." Kaze smiled too. "It -is- a stupid name for a ship."
"Heh, right about that! So let's go to the docks. Best place to look for ships." She winked softly.
They loosed themselves in the crowd, angling for the docks. The commerce gave life to Edo, a city that would otherwise be abandoned. There were ships from all over the world, and sailors who leered at the young-looking japanese couple walking among them, totally ignorant that the two 'youths' could dismember any of them within seconds.
"Hmmm... There are two ways to do it: ask the gaijin, or ask the locals." Kaze whispered to her. "Who do you want to deal with?"
Hikari eyed the surrounding area slowly and then shrugged quietly, looking towards Kaze.
"That always depends. But I think it would be easier to get information out of the gaijin's. They can be so easy to fool and frighten if necessary."
A slight feral grin played over her lips.
Kaze chuckled. "You should be more careful, dear. There are times when its not convenient for people to know you're shen. Want to do this by yourself or need my backup?"
He grinned, an arm around Hikari's shoulder. He started to walk a bit erratically, as if a bit drunk, and started guiding Hikari to an alley behind a warehouse.
She chuckled feintly.
"Indeed? And why should that be careful? The poor gaijin would be scared to death anyways."
A soft shrug and a light grin playing over her beautiful lips.
"Anyways, I would appreciate any backup on this one. I'm not so much an inforation gatherer really."
"Your beauty is enough to make the stones sing." He whispered as they rounded the alley's corner. "Right... we'll start with the smaller ships; they're less cocky and need to move around more to break even with their smaller cargoes."
He kissed her gently.
"Try not to frighten them... words of a pretty huntress could reach our quarry if you call too much attention."
She nodded softly and approached one of the ships slowly, using the ways of moving she had learned during her days in the streets. Walking sensually, swaying her hips lightly.
Her eyes though took in every movement and registered everything she saw, already hunting for clues.
"I'm right behind you." Kaze whispered softly, but when she looked back with a smile, he was gone.
"Kaze?"
"Uhm..." A disembodied voice answered. "I'm still here, just temporarily unavailable to sight."
Hikari chuckled before returning to her task, angling slowly towards a trading ship of Western build. Not one of the ugly steam-powered ones, but one which still navigated by sails and the favor of the spirits of the seas. There was a lone deckhand minding the plank, but Hikari heard through her acute senses that there were others aboard, still awake and not allowed to enjoy the port's pleasures. He was a tall man, easily three heads taller than Hikari and tanned by long days under the ocean's sun. He was sitting down beneath a lamp when he noticed the young-looking kuei-jin. He stood up at once.
She looked up to the towering man and gave him one of her most loveable smiles, inclining her head to the side and making a short bow before the man.
"Greetings sir, I couldn't help but notice you sitting around rather alone and I...ummm, well I have a few questions to ask, so I was thinking you might want to help me?"
The man asked something, but Hikari didn't understand him. He signaled her to wait and cried at the ship. Another sailor, shorter but still able to look down at everyone Hikari knew, in human form, of course.
"You want something, li'l sis?" The second sailor spoke in awkward japanese, either mistaking the term for 'lady' or being disrespectful on purpose. His leery eyes pointed towards the second alternative.
Hikari once more inclined her head and smiles, still one of her cutest smiles.
"Yes, indeed. I am looking for information on a ship and I believe that you would be the right people to ask. You know, I am looking for my little brother and he was supposed to arrive on that ship."
The leery man translated, and added something that he himself laughed at, but that the giant only frowned.
"What's the name of the ship, missy?"
"Brave Explorer 3." she replied quietly, eying the two quietly, not leaving them from her sight one second.
She would go at great lengths to find information for the ship, though she didn't know yet how long these lengths were anymore, not after what had happened between her and Kaze.
The giant muttered something, shaking his head. From his expression, Hikari could almost guess what it was: 'stupid name for a ship'. The two foreigners exchanged a few words, and the giant looked annoyed, if not outright angry.
"We haven't crossed paths, but we can ask the nightwatch if he saw anything." The gaijin took a step back, allowing Hikari a clear way to the plank and up to the ship. "He can't leave his post, so we need to go to him."
The giant man said something, but the interpreter brushed him off.
Knowing that they were probably trying to lure her into the ship with an excuse, but not caring one bit, playing the part of the innocent little girl perfectly, she walked up the ramp of the ship slowly, looking around her with big eyes.
Curious eyes followed her, and she in turn followed her guide. Some of the sailors asked him something, but he waved them off too. He guided her below deck into the cabins and knocked on a door at the end of the narrow corridor. He opened the door and let her in.
It was a small office with a bed, and a pale man was writing some papers when he looked up. His clothes were elegant yet worn, and they sure looked like they'd seen better days.
She eyed the man and the room curiously, her senses on full alert and energies just waiting to be released. She had no clue if Kaze was still with her, but she trusted him to be there when she was in trouble and that gave her some possibility to ease her mind.
"Ummm...greetings."
The man behind the desk looked at her oddly, then at the sailor, and asked something with a soft, yet authoritative voice. Next to her, the man looked nervous, a drop of sweat falling down his temple. She looked back at the more elegant man, and her blood nearly boiled in rage when he noticed that the pale man was not breathing.
"My apologies, youg girl." He said in perfect japanese. "My servant has rather strange ideas about what fate should befall pretty young things like you. He shall be punished for tricking you here, but in payment of your wasted time, I shall strive to assist you in whatever small matter brought you to his attention."
She nodded slightly and inclined her head again, still acting as though she didn't know who was sitting in front of her, or at least what.
She did hope that Kaze already knew that this man was not human though.
"Well, I was hoping to fin some information about the "Brave Explorer 3". You know, my little brother was on board that ship and he hasn't been at the agreed meeting point."
"The 'Brave Explorer 3'?" The Western vampire, for such was this creature, asked, only raising an eyebrow. "I have heard of this ship, but I was not aware that it allowed for passengers. You do look like a local japanese but..." He paused. "But were are my manners? I go by the name of Snorri Tannerson." He go up and bowed with oriental manners.
She raised a brow and returned the bow in Japanese tradition, meaning that she beant lower than him, as the women were still lower in social status.
"Hikari Kyusenko, sir. And I would appreciate any kind of information you could give me." she said with a gentle voice.
Kin-jin, she thought quietly and had to keep herself from shivering. She didn't know much of the western Vampire's but in her eyes, they weren't worth wasting time with, but as always, there were exceptions.
During her unlife, she had already met one Kin-jin and had built some sort of contact towards the man. To her surprise, he had been most willing to learn of the Eastern way of looking at the Wheel of the Ages and of the 6th Age and everything. A timid, yet secure connection had been formed, but all other Kin-jin she had met had been arrogant, unknowing idiots.
"Look girl... if your little brother was on board that ship, I'd go to the nearest temple and pray for his safety." Tannerson sat down again, and pointed her to do the same in one of the chairs in front of the desk. "Officially, the 'Brave Explorer' series belong to a British privateer; I hear there are five of them. But there have been rumors about one or more of those ships traffic in slaves from all over the world. I regret to give you these news, Miss Kyusenko, and I regret not being able to assist you in retrieving your brother."
She clasped her hands before her mouth as would a normal japanese girl her age do in such a situation.
"What? Why?" she stammered, playing the innocent perfectly. With a slight regulation of the flow of chi, she manipulated her eyes to get glittery, imitating rising tears.
"No...it can't be true. He said he was safe and...he...oh no..."
Appealing to the consciousness of a vampire was always a thing which usually ended in non cooperation from the vampire, but still, it was an approach she had to try.
"I'm sorry." The vampire repeated, looking genuinely regretful; he got up and walked next to Hikari, yet he didn't touch her in any way. He knelt down, as he was quite tall as well, and looked Hikari in the eyes. He frowned for a second. "It is a pity that one so young should have eyes so old; I apologize for bringing another burden to what must already be a hard life for you."
She nodded quietly and averted her eyes, glad for once that japanese etiquette didn't allow her to look into the eyes of someone superior to her.
She had no idea if the western vampire knew of her being a creature of the night, too, but she hoped he didn't and thus simply kept staring at the ground, imitating slight shaking of her body to make the others believe she was holding back tears forcefully.
"Thank you for your regret and your help. At least now I know why he hasn't turned up at the meeting point. I will take my leave now and not bother you any longer..."
"Wait." He said and returned behind his desk. He took a sheet of paper and wrote something on it, then poured melting wax from a candle on it until it formed a small circle in the paper, and then stamped his ring on it. He then chanted something in yet another language, and Hikari felt her skin crawl.
The Kin-Jin folded the paper and handed it over to her.
"I have sailed around the world for more years than you can imagine, girl, and I've seen it used for brave endeavours and foul crimes. In time I grew to respect the Ocean and abandoned my old ways. I decry these inhuman doings, and I will do what I can, from my own end of the world, to shed light upon your brother's captors so the authorities may punish them. I cannot guarantee the return of your sibling, only that, even if it takes a century or two, the criminals will feel your vengeance. This note will allow you into the foreigner's quarters in the capital of Kyoto; the privateer you look for is called 'Liam Shannington', he conducts business there when he docks elsewhere than in Edo."
Hikari nodded slightly and allowed herself a brief smile.
"You speak so kindly and I don't know how I could repay the kindness you offer me."
She kept herself from showing too much gladness, because inside she was grinning like mad. This was a very good start to their investigations.
"Live whatever life you can." He answered. "That, and pointing me out to these persons' crimes are reward enough."
He smiled, a weary yet strong gesture.
'A strange Kin-jin.' she thought to herself, eying the stranger for a moment longer.
Then she bowed deeply again.
"Then I thank you again, though I can't simply let this matter rest like that. Should you ever need help in the streets of this city, you can ask around for me. Some people know my name and others know my appearance and some of those can point me out to you. Maybe I can help...someday..." she smiled softly and turned to go.
"You don't fit into your role as stranger Mr. Tannerson." she said quietly before beginning to walk out of the room.
"I've always broken what has been imposed on me against my will." He answered as a goodbye.
She made her way off the ship without any trouble; all the sailors letting her pass, and even the leery-eyed interpreter defered to her.
"I don't trust him." She heard Kaze's voice near her, nearing a corner.
"Me neither." she muttered below her breath. "But it's the best lead we have so far, you know." She smiled feintly and quickly got out of hearing and sighting range from anyone, vanishing in a dark alley.
"I never trust Kin-jin. The only exception is an old 'friend' of mine, but that aside, these westerners generally are up to no good, though I had the impression he was really trying to help me."
"He probably was." The fox-man materialized in front of her. "But he put a spell on that letter, and I don't know what it does. Western magic is very rigid and tough to crack, and I'm not a sorcerer to even start trying. He might gain something out of the dust we'll kick up when we find this privateer of his."
"Most probably." she replied, grinning softly.
"But then again, who does anything for no gain at all these days. To be honest, i would have been surprised had he not done anything to gain something."
She shrugged her shoulders feintly and nudged Kaze on the side with her elbow.
"Come on, don't be so pessimistic. We have a good lead and we should use it, no?"
"Pessimistic, me?" He looked at her aghast. "You have insulted my honor! I shall never face this down! I'm better off dead!"
With one swift movement, he took his short-sword from behind him an poked himself in the stomach with the scabbard.
Hikari gently grabbed the sword by the scabbard and pulled it aside, leaning a bit forward to place a gentle kiss on his lips.
"Never say something like that. You are not allowed to die...got that?" she whispered and inclined her head in the cutest way imaginable, blinking her big eyes softly.
"Got it." He said, and his form was suddenly replaced by a small fox sitting on his haunches in front of her, cocking his head and twitching his ears.
He stood on two legs and barked.
She laughed softly and leaned down to kiss the fox on the tip of the snout and then looked around her.
"So, shall we go to that freelancer then?"
The man kneeled and stole a kiss from her.
"We have to make preparations." He said when he released her lips. "Kyoto is quite far from here."
He stood, looking in the direction of the docks. "And I don't like to rush off into ideas I didn't have myself." He seriousness disappeared a second after. "Did I tell you about the crocodile that almost eats me? It was my cousin's idea to go dive-fishing into the river."
Again, Hikari found herself overjoyed at his ability to lapse into funny stories, his ability to be so jovial and happy at all times. While listening to the story, she simply watched him, took in his features and the way they radiated his emotions and feelings.
When he was done, a soft smile played over her lips.
"Well...and about Kyoto?"
"I can carry a thick sack to carry you during daylight." Kaze winked. Or we can buy passage to the nearest port and walk from there. I hear the emperor is building a steam train, but the project is far from even starting."
"Hmmm..." Hikari murmured and looked around silently for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.
"Well, I suppose it would be best to buy passage. Nothing against you carrying me, but it would tire even YOU out to carry me around every day."
"I could always drag you." He tugged at her arm. "But yes. Most passenger ships book at daylight; I'll take care of it."
His tug became a definite pull. "Ever visited Kyoto?"
"Ummmm...no..." she replied and let herself be dragged along with him, following the fox to wherever he was about to lead her.
"Why, have you been?"
"Yep; but it wasn't the capital yet." I don't know how much it has changed, so the best way to get there is to go as poor peasants on their first trip to the capital. There are plenty of those, I bet. Which means..." He looked at her amused. "That we'll have to dress you with clothes a bit less comfortable..."
"Ah sheesh..."
She pouted, acting like a rich little girl who had just been deprived of a doll she wanted to have so badly. But the twinkle in her eyes told Kaze that she was just playing and not being serious right now.
"You want pretty little me clothed in rags???"
"I want pretty little you not calling attention to any of the shen with interests in the capital..."He playfully slipped a hand benath her custom kimono, playing with the fabric. "We will be trespassing until both of us present ourselves to the respective courts of our people there."
He leaned a bit closer, tugging now at her dress. "And I want to keep you all to myself..."
"Oh...is that so..." she whispered, a soft smile coming to her lips. "You're a bad fox, Kaze." she said with amusement in her voice as she felt his hand slip beneath the fabric of her Kimono.
But her thoughts traveled to the presentation at local court in Kyoto already. She hoped that the elders of that court didn't know of her already.
"Actually... I'm great at being a fox." He banished her thoughts with a kiss, yet Kaze himself was thinking about how to go about presenting his case to the Frost Lake Court.
She leaned in to return the kiss lovingly and then smiled a loving smile, a smile she only reserved for him.
"Well, I think it might pay off to take a visit to someone I know in Kyoto. At least, if he still lives there."
"I hope he has greater animal sympathy than your friend Jin." He disengaged from the kiss, and took her arm once they returned to busier streets.
Hikari chuckled feintly and inclined her head, gazing through the streets quietly as she answered.
"Oh I bet he has. He's of the shapechanging people, too."
"Oh, my... then I hope he's not someone I've tricked before..." He laughed softly and led her off to spend the rest of the night not worrying about the task and the trip upon them.
---
Hikari awoke alone. She knew Kaze had said he'd be arranging for their passage during daylight, but this was the first time he wasn't there when her eyes opened at dusk.
She looked around the room she rested in and found a slight ill feeling clawing at her mind, a feeling of dread when she realized Kaze was not here as always.
She got up slowly and already she felt the P'o laugh at her, tease her, trying to take control of her as she slowly walked through the room to try and find a note or anything that might give her a clue why Kaze was not here.
The sounds of the street came through the boarded-up walls, but otherwise, there was silence. Kaze's stash of food for himself was there, as well as the writing implements he pored over for hours to create the magical paper talismans she'd seen him use at Nakamura mansion. She even found his array of ninja equipment: black spikes and other metalworks for which purpose Hikari could only guess at, shuriken, a folded kama sickle, a bag of metal marbles... but nothing that would tell her where he was.
"Kaze...?" she whispered quietly, the P'o's voice inside her growing stronger with every second. She was afraid, afraid that something might have happened to Kaze and she had no idea where he might be. There was no evidence of where he could be.
Slowly, she approached the door to the exit of the place, the demon inside her clawing at its cage visciously.
There was no answer. Only the sounds of the street. She walked and went out the shelter they shared, and mingled with the people, extending her senses to detect his familiar chi signature. She sensed something else; another of her kind was nearby.
She narrowed her eyes slowly and turned, facing in the direction of the other Kuei-jin that was near her, readying herself for an attack or anything else.
If this one had harmed Kaze in any way, he would pay dearly.
He was huddled in a corner, posing as a beggar and doing a very good job of it, since nobody else was paying attention to him. His face was hidden by a tattered straw hat, his body covered by a muddied blanket. His body burned with Jin energy, and her nose picked up the scent of decay.
She arrowed in on the false beggar and stood above him for a moment, not saying a word, simply gazing down on the Jin infused being and narrowed her eyes even more.
"Why are you here?" she whispered with a voice that was not only hers but also that of her P'o who was glad for the anger burning in Hikari.
"I have a message for you." He said with a raspy voice. "I haven't found the hovel you and the dog stay in, so I decided to wait here for you to find me. It's a message from Jin."
"Go ahead." She simply said, afraid and angry at the same time now.
A message from Jin. That could be more information, which she doubted since information always came at a price or it could be a message from the court.
And that would be bad.
"The dog is our guest." He stated simply. "The courts wish to clarify your... working relationship with it."
The vampire rose, and Jin saw exposed teeth, surrounded by decaying flesh. The hat's rim hid the rest of the vampire's face. He was surely one consumed by the dark energies of Yin.
She narrowed her eyes more and barely was able to hold back her anger and fury.
"When am I to present myself to the court then?" she managed to say between her teeth.
"Right now." He pointed at the street. "But not in the palace, not this time for you. Follow me."
She refused to comment on that. In the past years, she had been loyal to the court, follwoing its orders and being the most furious fighter the court had to offer, winning battles anyone else would have lost.
But that was the way in Kuei-jin society. You could work all your life to get the respect of your elders, one false move could crumble everything.
She followed the Yin-infested Vampire quietly.
They made their way near to the docks; he led her to a warehouse with the windows covered from the inside, and a large kuei-jin standing guard outside. He nodded and let them in.
There was darkness, but it was inconsequential to her. There was a circle of lamps at the center, enclosing an area of around 20 meters in diameter. Just beyond the lamps' light, she saw Jin, surrounded by some of his Wu and other mortal gang members. At the center of the light, there was a black-clad body tied to a western chair, his back to her. There was just a thin spark of life in that person.
Again, she narrowed her eyes and approached Jin slowly, all senses aware, ready to fight her and Kaze's way out if necessary.
"What is the meaning of this?" she asked quietly.
"Just a little get-together, Hikari-chan." He answered, and a low chuckle rippled throughout the warehouse, revealing that more people hid in the darkness. "Your pet wasn't too keen on coming, though."
"You're treading on dangerous ground here Jin. But I see, that as always you're afraid to confront me alone." she spat, coming to a silent halt a few feet away from her supposed contact.
"What do you want?"
"Test your... dedication." He said, ignoring her jibe. "I've never seen you like yesterday, Hikari-chan... I could even say you're growing soft. We made sure your boyfriend wouldn't be able to help..."
"I'm NOT growing soft. You're talking senseless. I'm a Thrashing Dragon, you know that and as such my goal is to seek life and try to live. I'm sure I'm not the first Dragon to enter a relationship with a not-Kuei-jin."
She growled low in her throat, still aware and alert to any movements around her.
"And I'm a Devil Tiger... my goal is to destroy that..." He said softly. "Oh, my... I think the person in that chair has not much time to live..."
"I do warn you. If you kill him, I will make sure to give you the time of your unlife with pain so intense that you can't even begin to imagine. You'll be begging me to release you from your suffering for it will be unlike anything you've experienced before, even worse than the Yomi world you crawled back out from!"
Her words were spoken with that strange mix of her own voice and the voice of her P'o, dark, with a deadly conviction behind them, dangerous and sending a chill down the spine of almost anyone.
"Then you will entertain us." Jin said, walking towards the chair, a long claw extended. "Show me that you're not soft, and this person shall live."
"You dare threaten me!" she exclaimed, growling fiercely.
Her eyes lingered on the claw a moment and then on the limp for of Kaze, shivering all over, she shook her head violently and tried to calm the raging P'o inside her.
"What do you mean...entertain?" she whispered quietly.
She had no choice. Kaze was too weak to help her and even she was outnumbered against so many Kuei-jin and mortals.
"I think you know what I mean..." Jin said. "Fight us; right here, right now, all of us. I do warn you, he leant his palm on the head of his captor. "He'll still be here during our little game..."
Hikari noticed something strange when Jin patted his victim's head. The hair... it was the wrong color; the person in the chair wasn't Kaze...
"You little..." she whispered and shook her head, turning to fix her immortal stare at Jin. "All right...but first, I want to speak to him!"
"In his condition?" The gang leader said. "These mortals die so easily when they're weak, even if they are part beast."
"Heh. Maybe, but I won't fight you if I can't make sure that he is indeed the one you want to make me believe he is."
She narrowed her eyes softly and looked around.
"Should I find out you tried to fool me, I'll simply leave and take my revenge on you later."
Jin narrowed his eyes, then smiled perversely. He crushed the man's head without effort, and licked the blood and brain matter from his hand.
"I see you got me." He said. "But I didn't lie once. Your pet was indeed little willing to come to the party; he slipped away from our ambush and we've been looking for him. I just improvised."
"Then be prepared for my revenge Jin. It won't come at a small cost." she said witha quiet, dangerous tone in her voice.
"I will take my leave now. Should any of your goons find it fit to attack me, he will see what becomes of it."
"I have you here, Hikari-chan... you will not leave without a fight." He growled, and all around her, the sound of weaponry being drawn marked the opening of a certain massacre.
Hikari shook her head lightly and looked around herself a moment, then turned her gaze back to Jin.
"Why is it that you are so interested in fighting with me?"
Inside, she was preparing to fight however, drawing upon her chi reservoirs in preperation of use of a very potent discipline.
"I told you already... you're growing soft over a stupid dog; in this, I preserve your strength for our kind. NOW!"
There was an explosion somewhere, and Hikari felt something burn her flesh... Firearms!
Concentrating not to let herself be distracted, Hikari channeled her chi in herself.
Suddenly, she opened her mouth, a shout of such force and terror emitting from her throat that it was terrible to everyone who heard it. SHe used the discipline of Kiai, the power of the voice at a high level.
There was a general scrambling and panicked shouts filled the room; Jin was snarling now, foaming blood at the mouth and laughing like a demon. He had claws all over his fingers, and his maw had elongated. Behind him, four other kuei-jin jumped in the air, going after Hikari.
The surviving mortals in the room were beating at the door, crying desperately for the one outside to let them out.
So it was time to fight again for Hikari. She grinned madly and Allowed her own demon to cover her body, claws sprouting from fingers and feet, spikes breaking the perfect skin as she grew and huge, leathery wings extending from her shoulders.
She growled madly at the charging Kuei-jin, activating her Black Wind and charging onwards towards her attackers.
But this time she wasn't fighting a weak Chin'ta, or a lone spider-spirit. This time she was against her peers. She slashed one's chest open, but it only opened her side to a sword thrust that scraped her and burned with Yin-magic. She was faster than the others, but they were fast too, and they outnumbered her.
A loose flap of skin tightened around her legs, skin that had teeth.
Snarling, Hikari drew upon her chi sources again to draw forth her Goblin sword, infusing it with Yang energy and swinging it in the direction of the skin that tried to hold her.
She was outnumbered, she realized that, but she had never run away from a fight. She was the fiercest fighter in the local court, and the best and she could win, she knew that.
She used all of her strengths, her powers in the combat.
It was the only way she could stand a chance against her enemies.
Her sword was blocked by the black Yin-blade the other was holding, and Jin's inhuman roar signed the other to open a way for his attack. He was wearing his demon form too, the tentacles growing from his back were tipped with scorpion stingers, and his arms prolongued at the elbows into thorned bones. His jaw was huge and filled with sharp teeth.
Hikari was held, and fending off the others' attacks; she would receive Jin, but he would not go unscathed. But his flight through the air was stopped when one of the humans suddenly knocked his trajectory off with a flying kick. Rolling in the air, this new attacker lost the cloak that had been covering him to reveal orange fur, and three tails.
Hikari almost forgot to fight, overjoyed with the sight of Kaze, but she was quickly pulled back into reality and concentrated on fighting off the other Kuei-jin visciously.
Inside herself, she fought another battle.
She strained not to let her P'o take control over herself, strengthened by all the bloodshed around her.
She didn't want to lose control, especially not now, with Kaze present.
Two of her attackers broke off to charge the fox, as Jin sprawled on the ground and tried to recover his balance. Kaze gestured a spell, and his attackers backs suddenly sported a couple of this sheets of paper. The two Kuei-jin leapt for him, but he was flat against the ground and they sailed over him.
Hikari managed to break the hold on her legs: she was being attacked by the penangallan, the expert in Flesh Shintai, and by the sword-wielder. She saw Jin get ready, starting to charge for Kaze.
"NO!" she cried, again with that horrendouns voice, but this time, all its destructive power was directed at Jin.
The Cry of Blood.
Jin staggered by the force of her shout, but he, unlike her, embraced his demon nature, and her attack only slowed his charge. However, her two attackers were confused, and the grip on her legs went weak.
"Elemental Children, I call thee forth! Fire!" Kaze shouted, and the strips of paper on his attackers ignited, setting the two undead on fire. He faced Jin, and leapt an incredible height to avoid the charge. Jin, mad with rage charged the fox again.
"I can handle him!" Kaze shouted Hikari. "Worry about -them-."
The humans had recovered from their fright, and once again they were taking up their weapons.
"Oh great!" Hikari muttered and held her Goblin Blade high in front of her, slashing it at the two Kuei-jin still holding her.
Again, she channeled her chi inside her and activated yet another discipline, entering the Dragon Dance and using her Ghost Flame Shintai to the maximum effect.
She moved and danced around the attacks of the other two vampires, and was soon close to the humans, enough to make their firearms useless and dangerous.
On his side, Kaze had leapt well away of Jin's reach, and was again chanting and moving his hands. Hikari didn't see what happened, he only saw Jin break his new charge and blood and ichor spew from a dozen wounds as dozens of caltrops flew around him as if caught in an unfelt hurricane.
For now, Hikari was content to know that Kaze was able to handle himself without her help and continued in her Dance of death, swinging her sword at attackers, using her wings and claws to fend off others.
She was in her element, the field of battle and she was once again the most feared fighter of the court.
Her enemies fell by the dozen; the two kuei-jin helping her when slaughtering themselves any poor mortal who got in their way. But they found that Hikari was too much of an opponent for them, and their only chance had been when they were all attacking her. Hikari heard an inhuman roar fill the room, and the attacks on her paused.
Jin was on fire. He was trying to smother the flames, but they appeared to have life of their own. Near him, the smoldering corpses of two of his followers were a grim prophesy of his own future. The fox rushed him, and the demonic undead was thrown back several meters.
Hikari continued to decimate the enemies in front and around her, but she also found it harder and harder to control the P'o within her, especially since she still was in her demon form. When she was certain that she would be able to fend off any attacker in her human form, she shifted back, deactivating the demonic gift.
She was short one undead opponent: the sword wielder had ran off, but she didn't see where. The flesh manipulator was much too slow, and her goblin sword cut him to ribbons before continuing with the humans.
Another inhuman cry, and she now say Jin being torn off by something... Kaze was holding his hands forward, and the wind appeared to come alive in invisible blades that slashed mercilessly at the vampire, feeding the flames on him instead of smothering them. All the humans stopped fighting... at least the few of them that remained, and soon broke off running, exiting via a hole in the wall the first and wisest kuei-jin had punched to escape.
Hikari watched the retreat of the others, her inner self fighting back the P'o which was still trying to gain control over her, but now in her human form with less success.
Then she turned around to look for Kaze.
When she laid eyes on him, she broke into a run and quickly reached him, pulling the Kitsune into a tight hug.
"Oh gods Kaze, I was so afraid. I woke up and you were not there and no message...and then Jin showed up and..." she stopped.
She was indeed feeling joy at seeing him alive and that was something very rare for a Kuei-jin. Pure, untainted joy.
Kaze shifted back to human form, caressing her hair with the hand that wasn't holding her.
"I'm sorry, my pretty." He whispered. "When his mortal goons ambushed me, I knew there had to be more spies around; I couldn't lead them home, so I followed them and snuck in here. I was about to send a message when you showed up. I'm sorry."
She nodded into his embrace, but didn't say anything anymore. Words couldn't express the joy she felt and the happiness over the fact that she was indeed feeling this joy.
She rested in his arms a long while, amidst all the destruction, not caring for the world that she had just helped to destroy some of her kind.
"Hi... kari..." Jin rose, demon form lost, but smoking and bleeding, almost into Final Death. "The court... the... they... will... deal you..."
She jumped slightly and turned, slipping from Kaze's ambrace slowly and approaching Jin.
"It was all your fault Jin. All your fault..." she whispered.
"I will deal with the court when the time arises. I doubt that they are waiting around the corner to deal with me."
"Trai... tor..." He croaked, his arms trembling, rage still moving him, but without his strength, he could only direct it inward. "Consort to... animals..."
"Besides, " Kaze joined her. "I heard your little friends trying to talk you out of this, Jin-kun. 'The Court will not approve' was said a lot of times."
"And I do think so, too. The court has had no reason so far to test or criticize me openly, for I have always been loyal, moreso than you. If you want to think back to the start of this massacre, you were the one issuing the attack order, so it was YOU attacking ME. The court doesn't like Kuei-jin attacking Kuei-jin with no valid reason."
"And the Elemental Courts will back her up if it comes to that. I called the spirits of Wind and Fire tonight, and they were witness." Kaze said.
"Curse... both of you..." Jin's legs gave up, and he fell hardly. "Both of you... to Hell..."
"Oh, Jin..." Hikari whispered and inclined her head slightly.
"Always trying to be the winner, even if you went all the wrong road. I could have killed you here and now, but I won't."
She nodded slightly and turned to Kaze again.
"Shall we go?"
"Let's." He said, taking her arm. "We have places to go, people to see... aaaaand... " He pinched her backside softly and playfully. "Things to do."
"Heh!" she playfully batted at his hand and leaned into him as they both left the scene of the massacre behind.
For the moment, she couldn't care less about any courts. Kaze had once more managed to make her feel like she was human. To let her feel human emotions. And once again she was edging further on along her Dharmic path.
THE THIRD SCROLL
ALLEYWAYS
The little house appeared broken down and abandoned, and was reputed to be haunted. The garden was unkempt, the windows shuttered and the roof looked like it would break down any minute. It would have been a perfect haunt for the restless dead, if not for the warding charms pasted on each corner and entrance inside the house itself, which looked nothing like its outward facade.
Hikari opened her eyes in this house, grateful for the Yang that infused her being and allowed her to mimic the warmth of the living. She was alert instantly, taking in her surroundings. She had moved her haven to this place, one of Kaze's safehouses. Twilight colored the world orange, as the last of the sun's rays disappeared from the world. She smiled, and pressed closer to the fox-changer, letting his warm skin touch as much of hers as anatomy allowed.
"You're finally awake." Kaze said, eyeing her from half-closed eyelids. He could walk around day and night unhindered, but his habits were mostly nocturnal. In the few days Hikari had spent in this house, she'd gone to sleep and awoke in the kitsune's arms, his presence a small comfort against the unending nightmares her P'o fed her during her sleep. If he left her side during the daylight hours, Hikari never knew.
"Yessss." She hissed playfully, climbing on top of him, and resting her head in his shoulder.
"We have stuff to do tonight." He chuckled, playing with her short hair.
"It can wait." Hikari mumbled.
"Maybe... night life doesn't truly start until a few hours yet. But we need to hmphgbrghh..."
Hikari achieved what few people had ever done: she shut Kaze up, covering his babbling mouth with hers.
"I said..." She smiled mischievously while shifting position on top of him. "It can wait."
"Uh-huh..." Kaze nodded amusedly.
---
And so they abandoned the house through the trap door about an hour later, heading for the seedier side of the city and dressed for it. Kaze had abandoned his casual dress and now wore beaten and overused clothes befitting his roguish activities. Hikari... she dressed as she always deed, enticing and brash. Her arm around the kitsune's not doing anything to dissipate their dangerous look; quite the contrary, since whether they were a force to be reckoned with by themselves, together they looked like a barely contained natural disaster.
They blend into the lower districts perfectly.
"Police doesn't care about missing children." Kaze spoke low. "But the Yakuza might; they keep order where the law won't, and if they were not involved with Nakamura, they're bound to be pissed at him."
"But if they were..." Hikari answered.
"Then we're in deep poo-poo." The ninja scratched his head. "My people haven't been able to get anything out of the children; their minds are yet to heal. And..." He let the phrase trail off.
"And...?" The beautiful girl tugged on his arm.
"Nothing. It won't affect us."
"Kaze... please, tell me." Hikari was surprised and worried by the uncharacteristic frown of preocupation on her companion's face.
"Lord Tenryu disapproves of our... association." He said, looking straight ahead.
"But the opinion of one courtesan won't matter." She tried to reassure him.
"Oh... Lord Tenryu is not a simple courtesan... he's one of the Middle Dragons, and my Court tends to follow his words very closely."
"Is that... bad for you?" The undead girl unconsciously separated a few inches from Kaze.
He smiled, pulling her back. "As long as we deliver results and catch the bastard behind those machines, they can't do anything but glare. And I don't keep their company that much, anyway."
Hikari nodded, but still with a pang of guilt over the ways she had imposed on his life already. She noticed the change in the crowd as soon as they entered the lower district. Most of these people were criminals of a sort or another; some were Yakuza-run, others had governmental tolerance. Very few were even partially innocent.
They were amid human wilderness, and they were not the only predators roaming the night.
Though part of her mind was still precoccupied thinking about the news Kaze had given to her, the news about the disapproval, she kept looking through the people walking past them. She was looking for someone in particular and she knew that this one might be able to help them.
But still, the words rang in her mind and brought up the thoughts of how her elders would look upon this relationship. She didn't have much contact to her court, but she still showed herself there regularily, if only because it was expected of her. She was an elder of her kind after all.
How would they react...
She was almost certain that it would be almost the same reaction as the one Kaze had experienced, maybe even stronger disapproval.
But did she care?
She had always respected her elders for the deeds they had done, never for just their status and she knew that she was not un-respected in the court either, since she was one of the best warriors the Kuei-jin in the immediate area had, if not the best.
But all this respect wouldn't change their opinion...
And then her thoughts were ripped back into reality as her eyes locked on the man she had been looking for.
He was rather tall for a japanese, about 1.79 meters with short-cropped, black hair and harsh, life-signed features. His skin was rather ashen and seemed a bit sunken around the eyes and Hikari knew why that was the case.
Wearing casual, fitting clothes, this man was a being like herself, following another Dharmic path, one that rather opposed her own, but she had still found ways to let some sort of connection form which had always granted her information about Yakuza activities especially in the supernatural.
"Well hello there Jin-kun." she said with a light smile on her lips.
The man turned to look at her completely, black eyes gazing into hers fora moment before a weak smile came to his lips.
"Ah, Hikari-chan, you found yourself a new playmate, I see?" he said with mild amusement in his voice.
Hikari herself answered before Kaze could say anything.
"It's not that simple this time Jin. May I introduce, this is Kaze, my companion." she nodded to Kaze.
"And Kaze, meet Jin Akaiwa, the best source for information on certain activities we are looking into."
The two supernatural beings eyes each other and Hikari knew that they didn't just look through eyes alone.
"You took one of HIS kind for a companion?" Jin asked with more than mild surprise and a certain tone of disgust in his voice.
"Yes, one of MY kind."
This time Kaze didn't give Hikari a chance to speak before him. He eyed the other Kuei-jin with obvious distrust.
"Oh geeze you two, could you cut it out for a moment. I just need some information from you Jin and you know you owe me something!" Hikari said with a light annoyance in her words. This meeting was only a light appetizer for what was to come when the court would find out about Kaze and her.
"Information about what?" Jin asked finally, turning to look at Hikari.
"A guy named Nakamura. I know you are with the high-ups in the Yakuza, so if anything of greater importance is discussed, you would know. Did you ever hear of the name?"
Kaze stood, watching the other Kuei-jin quietly, realizing just how different this one and Hikari were. That ones body was full of Yin, deathly energy and he seemed arrogant beyond comprehension. But then again, he also knew that his own kind didn't act much different most of the time.
Still he disdained of creatures like him, loathing and craving for death, embracing it.
Still, this was Hikari's best contact and even himself couldn't object that it was logical to ask this Jin-guy, since he was a high-up in Yakuza politics.
"Nakamura..." The Yin-heavy vampire thought. "It does ring a bell. But you know there's a price tag attached, Hikari-chan."
"I didn' think otherwise. But what is the price this time?" she retorted quietly.
"Let's see..." He eyed Kaze. "A pint of his blood."
"No way!" she exclaimed edging nearer to Kaze. "He's my companion!"
Jin chuckled. "Companion... Blood of your blood, no?" He said. "Or haven't you bedded him yet?... must be the fleas."
Kaze was quiet, but his eyes shone.
"Remember what happened last time you angered me?" Her eyes glowed dangerously as she spoke.
"How could I forget?" The kuei-jin smirked. "But that time I didn't have something you wanted."
"You're willing to take the risk that you are our only source?" She grinned a demonic smile.
"Regarding Nakamura... yes." The other monster stood with deathlike calm. "If not, I will spread the word and no one will talk to you."
"Then we'll have to find other ways. You won't have his blood!" She growled low and already turned to go.
"Wait." Kaze stopped her. "I guess his information is not so good, if he's asking for something so cheap and useless."
"No tricks, hengeyokai." Jin said, and Hikari realized that he had no way to know what kind of beast Kaze was; the other vampire didn't know he was dealing with a kitsune.
"Still, you're my love." she said quietly. "You..mean too much to me. Even your... cheap blood."
Kaze squeezed her hand, hidden in the folds of his jacket. "You could have my blood, kuei-jin, but it would serve you nothing. Kitsune blood is cursed, as many Kinjin know when trying to drink from us. They burn so prettily." The human-shaped fox grinned, and Jin appeared less sure.
"So see, there you have it. Change your price." Hikari said quietly.
Jin scowled, thinking.
"I mean." Kaze added. "I can always make more blood, even if it rots you when you take it."
Hikari nodded quietly and eyed the other supernatural being, waiting for a response.
"Have it your way."Jin spat. "10 golds. The information is not that good."
"I knew I could trust to get things from you." She handed him his payment.
"The mortal was corrupt; he was buying children from China and Korea. We never found out what he did with them. There was a ship, from America, moving merchandise to his mansion, and we think they shipped some of the children out."
"So the Yakuza had nothing to do with him?"
"The pathetic husk was authority." Jin continued. "He'd commit seppuku before dealing with us."
"Or sell his soul to Yomi." Kaze said. With disdain, Jin nodded.
"Any idea who might be in the background? Or was he acting alone?"
"He was dealing with a Chin'ta, but I hear he exploded." Jun chuckled. "Then there's that ship; same one for five years. The 'Brave Explorer 3'. Stupid name for a ship."
"Hmmm. Anything else?"
"Not for ten gold." His face was impassive. "I'd ask for a night of your Yang-doings, but your dog would bite me."
"Sorry, this doggy doesn't eat carrion."
"Yep and it's good this way." Grinning softly, she tugged lightly on Kaze's arm. "Thanks for the help!"
"I will report to the court about this." Jin said somberly.
"My people will talk to your people." Kaze replied insolently, being pulled away by Hikari. "And you know how those parties turn out."
The kitsune put an arm around Hikari's shoulders, laughing softly.
"Sorry my sweet. But he's the best contact I have in these matters." She said after they were a bit away from Jin.
"Nice guy." He answered. "Would've teased him out of his socks if we didn't need him."
"I know." She smiled softly and leaned over to kiss him lightly. "Not all of us can be like me."
"Fortunately." He stopped and held her chin high. "I wouldn't know from where to choose." He kissed her before she could reply.
"Don't say such things. I'm embarrassed." She smiled softly after the kiss. "So, what now?"
"Find this 'Brave Explorer 3'." Kaze smiled too. "It -is- a stupid name for a ship."
"Heh, right about that! So let's go to the docks. Best place to look for ships." She winked softly.
They loosed themselves in the crowd, angling for the docks. The commerce gave life to Edo, a city that would otherwise be abandoned. There were ships from all over the world, and sailors who leered at the young-looking japanese couple walking among them, totally ignorant that the two 'youths' could dismember any of them within seconds.
"Hmmm... There are two ways to do it: ask the gaijin, or ask the locals." Kaze whispered to her. "Who do you want to deal with?"
Hikari eyed the surrounding area slowly and then shrugged quietly, looking towards Kaze.
"That always depends. But I think it would be easier to get information out of the gaijin's. They can be so easy to fool and frighten if necessary."
A slight feral grin played over her lips.
Kaze chuckled. "You should be more careful, dear. There are times when its not convenient for people to know you're shen. Want to do this by yourself or need my backup?"
He grinned, an arm around Hikari's shoulder. He started to walk a bit erratically, as if a bit drunk, and started guiding Hikari to an alley behind a warehouse.
She chuckled feintly.
"Indeed? And why should that be careful? The poor gaijin would be scared to death anyways."
A soft shrug and a light grin playing over her beautiful lips.
"Anyways, I would appreciate any backup on this one. I'm not so much an inforation gatherer really."
"Your beauty is enough to make the stones sing." He whispered as they rounded the alley's corner. "Right... we'll start with the smaller ships; they're less cocky and need to move around more to break even with their smaller cargoes."
He kissed her gently.
"Try not to frighten them... words of a pretty huntress could reach our quarry if you call too much attention."
She nodded softly and approached one of the ships slowly, using the ways of moving she had learned during her days in the streets. Walking sensually, swaying her hips lightly.
Her eyes though took in every movement and registered everything she saw, already hunting for clues.
"I'm right behind you." Kaze whispered softly, but when she looked back with a smile, he was gone.
"Kaze?"
"Uhm..." A disembodied voice answered. "I'm still here, just temporarily unavailable to sight."
Hikari chuckled before returning to her task, angling slowly towards a trading ship of Western build. Not one of the ugly steam-powered ones, but one which still navigated by sails and the favor of the spirits of the seas. There was a lone deckhand minding the plank, but Hikari heard through her acute senses that there were others aboard, still awake and not allowed to enjoy the port's pleasures. He was a tall man, easily three heads taller than Hikari and tanned by long days under the ocean's sun. He was sitting down beneath a lamp when he noticed the young-looking kuei-jin. He stood up at once.
She looked up to the towering man and gave him one of her most loveable smiles, inclining her head to the side and making a short bow before the man.
"Greetings sir, I couldn't help but notice you sitting around rather alone and I...ummm, well I have a few questions to ask, so I was thinking you might want to help me?"
The man asked something, but Hikari didn't understand him. He signaled her to wait and cried at the ship. Another sailor, shorter but still able to look down at everyone Hikari knew, in human form, of course.
"You want something, li'l sis?" The second sailor spoke in awkward japanese, either mistaking the term for 'lady' or being disrespectful on purpose. His leery eyes pointed towards the second alternative.
Hikari once more inclined her head and smiles, still one of her cutest smiles.
"Yes, indeed. I am looking for information on a ship and I believe that you would be the right people to ask. You know, I am looking for my little brother and he was supposed to arrive on that ship."
The leery man translated, and added something that he himself laughed at, but that the giant only frowned.
"What's the name of the ship, missy?"
"Brave Explorer 3." she replied quietly, eying the two quietly, not leaving them from her sight one second.
She would go at great lengths to find information for the ship, though she didn't know yet how long these lengths were anymore, not after what had happened between her and Kaze.
The giant muttered something, shaking his head. From his expression, Hikari could almost guess what it was: 'stupid name for a ship'. The two foreigners exchanged a few words, and the giant looked annoyed, if not outright angry.
"We haven't crossed paths, but we can ask the nightwatch if he saw anything." The gaijin took a step back, allowing Hikari a clear way to the plank and up to the ship. "He can't leave his post, so we need to go to him."
The giant man said something, but the interpreter brushed him off.
Knowing that they were probably trying to lure her into the ship with an excuse, but not caring one bit, playing the part of the innocent little girl perfectly, she walked up the ramp of the ship slowly, looking around her with big eyes.
Curious eyes followed her, and she in turn followed her guide. Some of the sailors asked him something, but he waved them off too. He guided her below deck into the cabins and knocked on a door at the end of the narrow corridor. He opened the door and let her in.
It was a small office with a bed, and a pale man was writing some papers when he looked up. His clothes were elegant yet worn, and they sure looked like they'd seen better days.
She eyed the man and the room curiously, her senses on full alert and energies just waiting to be released. She had no clue if Kaze was still with her, but she trusted him to be there when she was in trouble and that gave her some possibility to ease her mind.
"Ummm...greetings."
The man behind the desk looked at her oddly, then at the sailor, and asked something with a soft, yet authoritative voice. Next to her, the man looked nervous, a drop of sweat falling down his temple. She looked back at the more elegant man, and her blood nearly boiled in rage when he noticed that the pale man was not breathing.
"My apologies, youg girl." He said in perfect japanese. "My servant has rather strange ideas about what fate should befall pretty young things like you. He shall be punished for tricking you here, but in payment of your wasted time, I shall strive to assist you in whatever small matter brought you to his attention."
She nodded slightly and inclined her head again, still acting as though she didn't know who was sitting in front of her, or at least what.
She did hope that Kaze already knew that this man was not human though.
"Well, I was hoping to fin some information about the "Brave Explorer 3". You know, my little brother was on board that ship and he hasn't been at the agreed meeting point."
"The 'Brave Explorer 3'?" The Western vampire, for such was this creature, asked, only raising an eyebrow. "I have heard of this ship, but I was not aware that it allowed for passengers. You do look like a local japanese but..." He paused. "But were are my manners? I go by the name of Snorri Tannerson." He go up and bowed with oriental manners.
She raised a brow and returned the bow in Japanese tradition, meaning that she beant lower than him, as the women were still lower in social status.
"Hikari Kyusenko, sir. And I would appreciate any kind of information you could give me." she said with a gentle voice.
Kin-jin, she thought quietly and had to keep herself from shivering. She didn't know much of the western Vampire's but in her eyes, they weren't worth wasting time with, but as always, there were exceptions.
During her unlife, she had already met one Kin-jin and had built some sort of contact towards the man. To her surprise, he had been most willing to learn of the Eastern way of looking at the Wheel of the Ages and of the 6th Age and everything. A timid, yet secure connection had been formed, but all other Kin-jin she had met had been arrogant, unknowing idiots.
"Look girl... if your little brother was on board that ship, I'd go to the nearest temple and pray for his safety." Tannerson sat down again, and pointed her to do the same in one of the chairs in front of the desk. "Officially, the 'Brave Explorer' series belong to a British privateer; I hear there are five of them. But there have been rumors about one or more of those ships traffic in slaves from all over the world. I regret to give you these news, Miss Kyusenko, and I regret not being able to assist you in retrieving your brother."
She clasped her hands before her mouth as would a normal japanese girl her age do in such a situation.
"What? Why?" she stammered, playing the innocent perfectly. With a slight regulation of the flow of chi, she manipulated her eyes to get glittery, imitating rising tears.
"No...it can't be true. He said he was safe and...he...oh no..."
Appealing to the consciousness of a vampire was always a thing which usually ended in non cooperation from the vampire, but still, it was an approach she had to try.
"I'm sorry." The vampire repeated, looking genuinely regretful; he got up and walked next to Hikari, yet he didn't touch her in any way. He knelt down, as he was quite tall as well, and looked Hikari in the eyes. He frowned for a second. "It is a pity that one so young should have eyes so old; I apologize for bringing another burden to what must already be a hard life for you."
She nodded quietly and averted her eyes, glad for once that japanese etiquette didn't allow her to look into the eyes of someone superior to her.
She had no idea if the western vampire knew of her being a creature of the night, too, but she hoped he didn't and thus simply kept staring at the ground, imitating slight shaking of her body to make the others believe she was holding back tears forcefully.
"Thank you for your regret and your help. At least now I know why he hasn't turned up at the meeting point. I will take my leave now and not bother you any longer..."
"Wait." He said and returned behind his desk. He took a sheet of paper and wrote something on it, then poured melting wax from a candle on it until it formed a small circle in the paper, and then stamped his ring on it. He then chanted something in yet another language, and Hikari felt her skin crawl.
The Kin-Jin folded the paper and handed it over to her.
"I have sailed around the world for more years than you can imagine, girl, and I've seen it used for brave endeavours and foul crimes. In time I grew to respect the Ocean and abandoned my old ways. I decry these inhuman doings, and I will do what I can, from my own end of the world, to shed light upon your brother's captors so the authorities may punish them. I cannot guarantee the return of your sibling, only that, even if it takes a century or two, the criminals will feel your vengeance. This note will allow you into the foreigner's quarters in the capital of Kyoto; the privateer you look for is called 'Liam Shannington', he conducts business there when he docks elsewhere than in Edo."
Hikari nodded slightly and allowed herself a brief smile.
"You speak so kindly and I don't know how I could repay the kindness you offer me."
She kept herself from showing too much gladness, because inside she was grinning like mad. This was a very good start to their investigations.
"Live whatever life you can." He answered. "That, and pointing me out to these persons' crimes are reward enough."
He smiled, a weary yet strong gesture.
'A strange Kin-jin.' she thought to herself, eying the stranger for a moment longer.
Then she bowed deeply again.
"Then I thank you again, though I can't simply let this matter rest like that. Should you ever need help in the streets of this city, you can ask around for me. Some people know my name and others know my appearance and some of those can point me out to you. Maybe I can help...someday..." she smiled softly and turned to go.
"You don't fit into your role as stranger Mr. Tannerson." she said quietly before beginning to walk out of the room.
"I've always broken what has been imposed on me against my will." He answered as a goodbye.
She made her way off the ship without any trouble; all the sailors letting her pass, and even the leery-eyed interpreter defered to her.
"I don't trust him." She heard Kaze's voice near her, nearing a corner.
"Me neither." she muttered below her breath. "But it's the best lead we have so far, you know." She smiled feintly and quickly got out of hearing and sighting range from anyone, vanishing in a dark alley.
"I never trust Kin-jin. The only exception is an old 'friend' of mine, but that aside, these westerners generally are up to no good, though I had the impression he was really trying to help me."
"He probably was." The fox-man materialized in front of her. "But he put a spell on that letter, and I don't know what it does. Western magic is very rigid and tough to crack, and I'm not a sorcerer to even start trying. He might gain something out of the dust we'll kick up when we find this privateer of his."
"Most probably." she replied, grinning softly.
"But then again, who does anything for no gain at all these days. To be honest, i would have been surprised had he not done anything to gain something."
She shrugged her shoulders feintly and nudged Kaze on the side with her elbow.
"Come on, don't be so pessimistic. We have a good lead and we should use it, no?"
"Pessimistic, me?" He looked at her aghast. "You have insulted my honor! I shall never face this down! I'm better off dead!"
With one swift movement, he took his short-sword from behind him an poked himself in the stomach with the scabbard.
Hikari gently grabbed the sword by the scabbard and pulled it aside, leaning a bit forward to place a gentle kiss on his lips.
"Never say something like that. You are not allowed to die...got that?" she whispered and inclined her head in the cutest way imaginable, blinking her big eyes softly.
"Got it." He said, and his form was suddenly replaced by a small fox sitting on his haunches in front of her, cocking his head and twitching his ears.
He stood on two legs and barked.
She laughed softly and leaned down to kiss the fox on the tip of the snout and then looked around her.
"So, shall we go to that freelancer then?"
The man kneeled and stole a kiss from her.
"We have to make preparations." He said when he released her lips. "Kyoto is quite far from here."
He stood, looking in the direction of the docks. "And I don't like to rush off into ideas I didn't have myself." He seriousness disappeared a second after. "Did I tell you about the crocodile that almost eats me? It was my cousin's idea to go dive-fishing into the river."
Again, Hikari found herself overjoyed at his ability to lapse into funny stories, his ability to be so jovial and happy at all times. While listening to the story, she simply watched him, took in his features and the way they radiated his emotions and feelings.
When he was done, a soft smile played over her lips.
"Well...and about Kyoto?"
"I can carry a thick sack to carry you during daylight." Kaze winked. Or we can buy passage to the nearest port and walk from there. I hear the emperor is building a steam train, but the project is far from even starting."
"Hmmm..." Hikari murmured and looked around silently for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.
"Well, I suppose it would be best to buy passage. Nothing against you carrying me, but it would tire even YOU out to carry me around every day."
"I could always drag you." He tugged at her arm. "But yes. Most passenger ships book at daylight; I'll take care of it."
His tug became a definite pull. "Ever visited Kyoto?"
"Ummmm...no..." she replied and let herself be dragged along with him, following the fox to wherever he was about to lead her.
"Why, have you been?"
"Yep; but it wasn't the capital yet." I don't know how much it has changed, so the best way to get there is to go as poor peasants on their first trip to the capital. There are plenty of those, I bet. Which means..." He looked at her amused. "That we'll have to dress you with clothes a bit less comfortable..."
"Ah sheesh..."
She pouted, acting like a rich little girl who had just been deprived of a doll she wanted to have so badly. But the twinkle in her eyes told Kaze that she was just playing and not being serious right now.
"You want pretty little me clothed in rags???"
"I want pretty little you not calling attention to any of the shen with interests in the capital..."He playfully slipped a hand benath her custom kimono, playing with the fabric. "We will be trespassing until both of us present ourselves to the respective courts of our people there."
He leaned a bit closer, tugging now at her dress. "And I want to keep you all to myself..."
"Oh...is that so..." she whispered, a soft smile coming to her lips. "You're a bad fox, Kaze." she said with amusement in her voice as she felt his hand slip beneath the fabric of her Kimono.
But her thoughts traveled to the presentation at local court in Kyoto already. She hoped that the elders of that court didn't know of her already.
"Actually... I'm great at being a fox." He banished her thoughts with a kiss, yet Kaze himself was thinking about how to go about presenting his case to the Frost Lake Court.
She leaned in to return the kiss lovingly and then smiled a loving smile, a smile she only reserved for him.
"Well, I think it might pay off to take a visit to someone I know in Kyoto. At least, if he still lives there."
"I hope he has greater animal sympathy than your friend Jin." He disengaged from the kiss, and took her arm once they returned to busier streets.
Hikari chuckled feintly and inclined her head, gazing through the streets quietly as she answered.
"Oh I bet he has. He's of the shapechanging people, too."
"Oh, my... then I hope he's not someone I've tricked before..." He laughed softly and led her off to spend the rest of the night not worrying about the task and the trip upon them.
---
Hikari awoke alone. She knew Kaze had said he'd be arranging for their passage during daylight, but this was the first time he wasn't there when her eyes opened at dusk.
She looked around the room she rested in and found a slight ill feeling clawing at her mind, a feeling of dread when she realized Kaze was not here as always.
She got up slowly and already she felt the P'o laugh at her, tease her, trying to take control of her as she slowly walked through the room to try and find a note or anything that might give her a clue why Kaze was not here.
The sounds of the street came through the boarded-up walls, but otherwise, there was silence. Kaze's stash of food for himself was there, as well as the writing implements he pored over for hours to create the magical paper talismans she'd seen him use at Nakamura mansion. She even found his array of ninja equipment: black spikes and other metalworks for which purpose Hikari could only guess at, shuriken, a folded kama sickle, a bag of metal marbles... but nothing that would tell her where he was.
"Kaze...?" she whispered quietly, the P'o's voice inside her growing stronger with every second. She was afraid, afraid that something might have happened to Kaze and she had no idea where he might be. There was no evidence of where he could be.
Slowly, she approached the door to the exit of the place, the demon inside her clawing at its cage visciously.
There was no answer. Only the sounds of the street. She walked and went out the shelter they shared, and mingled with the people, extending her senses to detect his familiar chi signature. She sensed something else; another of her kind was nearby.
She narrowed her eyes slowly and turned, facing in the direction of the other Kuei-jin that was near her, readying herself for an attack or anything else.
If this one had harmed Kaze in any way, he would pay dearly.
He was huddled in a corner, posing as a beggar and doing a very good job of it, since nobody else was paying attention to him. His face was hidden by a tattered straw hat, his body covered by a muddied blanket. His body burned with Jin energy, and her nose picked up the scent of decay.
She arrowed in on the false beggar and stood above him for a moment, not saying a word, simply gazing down on the Jin infused being and narrowed her eyes even more.
"Why are you here?" she whispered with a voice that was not only hers but also that of her P'o who was glad for the anger burning in Hikari.
"I have a message for you." He said with a raspy voice. "I haven't found the hovel you and the dog stay in, so I decided to wait here for you to find me. It's a message from Jin."
"Go ahead." She simply said, afraid and angry at the same time now.
A message from Jin. That could be more information, which she doubted since information always came at a price or it could be a message from the court.
And that would be bad.
"The dog is our guest." He stated simply. "The courts wish to clarify your... working relationship with it."
The vampire rose, and Jin saw exposed teeth, surrounded by decaying flesh. The hat's rim hid the rest of the vampire's face. He was surely one consumed by the dark energies of Yin.
She narrowed her eyes more and barely was able to hold back her anger and fury.
"When am I to present myself to the court then?" she managed to say between her teeth.
"Right now." He pointed at the street. "But not in the palace, not this time for you. Follow me."
She refused to comment on that. In the past years, she had been loyal to the court, follwoing its orders and being the most furious fighter the court had to offer, winning battles anyone else would have lost.
But that was the way in Kuei-jin society. You could work all your life to get the respect of your elders, one false move could crumble everything.
She followed the Yin-infested Vampire quietly.
They made their way near to the docks; he led her to a warehouse with the windows covered from the inside, and a large kuei-jin standing guard outside. He nodded and let them in.
There was darkness, but it was inconsequential to her. There was a circle of lamps at the center, enclosing an area of around 20 meters in diameter. Just beyond the lamps' light, she saw Jin, surrounded by some of his Wu and other mortal gang members. At the center of the light, there was a black-clad body tied to a western chair, his back to her. There was just a thin spark of life in that person.
Again, she narrowed her eyes and approached Jin slowly, all senses aware, ready to fight her and Kaze's way out if necessary.
"What is the meaning of this?" she asked quietly.
"Just a little get-together, Hikari-chan." He answered, and a low chuckle rippled throughout the warehouse, revealing that more people hid in the darkness. "Your pet wasn't too keen on coming, though."
"You're treading on dangerous ground here Jin. But I see, that as always you're afraid to confront me alone." she spat, coming to a silent halt a few feet away from her supposed contact.
"What do you want?"
"Test your... dedication." He said, ignoring her jibe. "I've never seen you like yesterday, Hikari-chan... I could even say you're growing soft. We made sure your boyfriend wouldn't be able to help..."
"I'm NOT growing soft. You're talking senseless. I'm a Thrashing Dragon, you know that and as such my goal is to seek life and try to live. I'm sure I'm not the first Dragon to enter a relationship with a not-Kuei-jin."
She growled low in her throat, still aware and alert to any movements around her.
"And I'm a Devil Tiger... my goal is to destroy that..." He said softly. "Oh, my... I think the person in that chair has not much time to live..."
"I do warn you. If you kill him, I will make sure to give you the time of your unlife with pain so intense that you can't even begin to imagine. You'll be begging me to release you from your suffering for it will be unlike anything you've experienced before, even worse than the Yomi world you crawled back out from!"
Her words were spoken with that strange mix of her own voice and the voice of her P'o, dark, with a deadly conviction behind them, dangerous and sending a chill down the spine of almost anyone.
"Then you will entertain us." Jin said, walking towards the chair, a long claw extended. "Show me that you're not soft, and this person shall live."
"You dare threaten me!" she exclaimed, growling fiercely.
Her eyes lingered on the claw a moment and then on the limp for of Kaze, shivering all over, she shook her head violently and tried to calm the raging P'o inside her.
"What do you mean...entertain?" she whispered quietly.
She had no choice. Kaze was too weak to help her and even she was outnumbered against so many Kuei-jin and mortals.
"I think you know what I mean..." Jin said. "Fight us; right here, right now, all of us. I do warn you, he leant his palm on the head of his captor. "He'll still be here during our little game..."
Hikari noticed something strange when Jin patted his victim's head. The hair... it was the wrong color; the person in the chair wasn't Kaze...
"You little..." she whispered and shook her head, turning to fix her immortal stare at Jin. "All right...but first, I want to speak to him!"
"In his condition?" The gang leader said. "These mortals die so easily when they're weak, even if they are part beast."
"Heh. Maybe, but I won't fight you if I can't make sure that he is indeed the one you want to make me believe he is."
She narrowed her eyes softly and looked around.
"Should I find out you tried to fool me, I'll simply leave and take my revenge on you later."
Jin narrowed his eyes, then smiled perversely. He crushed the man's head without effort, and licked the blood and brain matter from his hand.
"I see you got me." He said. "But I didn't lie once. Your pet was indeed little willing to come to the party; he slipped away from our ambush and we've been looking for him. I just improvised."
"Then be prepared for my revenge Jin. It won't come at a small cost." she said witha quiet, dangerous tone in her voice.
"I will take my leave now. Should any of your goons find it fit to attack me, he will see what becomes of it."
"I have you here, Hikari-chan... you will not leave without a fight." He growled, and all around her, the sound of weaponry being drawn marked the opening of a certain massacre.
Hikari shook her head lightly and looked around herself a moment, then turned her gaze back to Jin.
"Why is it that you are so interested in fighting with me?"
Inside, she was preparing to fight however, drawing upon her chi reservoirs in preperation of use of a very potent discipline.
"I told you already... you're growing soft over a stupid dog; in this, I preserve your strength for our kind. NOW!"
There was an explosion somewhere, and Hikari felt something burn her flesh... Firearms!
Concentrating not to let herself be distracted, Hikari channeled her chi in herself.
Suddenly, she opened her mouth, a shout of such force and terror emitting from her throat that it was terrible to everyone who heard it. SHe used the discipline of Kiai, the power of the voice at a high level.
There was a general scrambling and panicked shouts filled the room; Jin was snarling now, foaming blood at the mouth and laughing like a demon. He had claws all over his fingers, and his maw had elongated. Behind him, four other kuei-jin jumped in the air, going after Hikari.
The surviving mortals in the room were beating at the door, crying desperately for the one outside to let them out.
So it was time to fight again for Hikari. She grinned madly and Allowed her own demon to cover her body, claws sprouting from fingers and feet, spikes breaking the perfect skin as she grew and huge, leathery wings extending from her shoulders.
She growled madly at the charging Kuei-jin, activating her Black Wind and charging onwards towards her attackers.
But this time she wasn't fighting a weak Chin'ta, or a lone spider-spirit. This time she was against her peers. She slashed one's chest open, but it only opened her side to a sword thrust that scraped her and burned with Yin-magic. She was faster than the others, but they were fast too, and they outnumbered her.
A loose flap of skin tightened around her legs, skin that had teeth.
Snarling, Hikari drew upon her chi sources again to draw forth her Goblin sword, infusing it with Yang energy and swinging it in the direction of the skin that tried to hold her.
She was outnumbered, she realized that, but she had never run away from a fight. She was the fiercest fighter in the local court, and the best and she could win, she knew that.
She used all of her strengths, her powers in the combat.
It was the only way she could stand a chance against her enemies.
Her sword was blocked by the black Yin-blade the other was holding, and Jin's inhuman roar signed the other to open a way for his attack. He was wearing his demon form too, the tentacles growing from his back were tipped with scorpion stingers, and his arms prolongued at the elbows into thorned bones. His jaw was huge and filled with sharp teeth.
Hikari was held, and fending off the others' attacks; she would receive Jin, but he would not go unscathed. But his flight through the air was stopped when one of the humans suddenly knocked his trajectory off with a flying kick. Rolling in the air, this new attacker lost the cloak that had been covering him to reveal orange fur, and three tails.
Hikari almost forgot to fight, overjoyed with the sight of Kaze, but she was quickly pulled back into reality and concentrated on fighting off the other Kuei-jin visciously.
Inside herself, she fought another battle.
She strained not to let her P'o take control over herself, strengthened by all the bloodshed around her.
She didn't want to lose control, especially not now, with Kaze present.
Two of her attackers broke off to charge the fox, as Jin sprawled on the ground and tried to recover his balance. Kaze gestured a spell, and his attackers backs suddenly sported a couple of this sheets of paper. The two Kuei-jin leapt for him, but he was flat against the ground and they sailed over him.
Hikari managed to break the hold on her legs: she was being attacked by the penangallan, the expert in Flesh Shintai, and by the sword-wielder. She saw Jin get ready, starting to charge for Kaze.
"NO!" she cried, again with that horrendouns voice, but this time, all its destructive power was directed at Jin.
The Cry of Blood.
Jin staggered by the force of her shout, but he, unlike her, embraced his demon nature, and her attack only slowed his charge. However, her two attackers were confused, and the grip on her legs went weak.
"Elemental Children, I call thee forth! Fire!" Kaze shouted, and the strips of paper on his attackers ignited, setting the two undead on fire. He faced Jin, and leapt an incredible height to avoid the charge. Jin, mad with rage charged the fox again.
"I can handle him!" Kaze shouted Hikari. "Worry about -them-."
The humans had recovered from their fright, and once again they were taking up their weapons.
"Oh great!" Hikari muttered and held her Goblin Blade high in front of her, slashing it at the two Kuei-jin still holding her.
Again, she channeled her chi inside her and activated yet another discipline, entering the Dragon Dance and using her Ghost Flame Shintai to the maximum effect.
She moved and danced around the attacks of the other two vampires, and was soon close to the humans, enough to make their firearms useless and dangerous.
On his side, Kaze had leapt well away of Jin's reach, and was again chanting and moving his hands. Hikari didn't see what happened, he only saw Jin break his new charge and blood and ichor spew from a dozen wounds as dozens of caltrops flew around him as if caught in an unfelt hurricane.
For now, Hikari was content to know that Kaze was able to handle himself without her help and continued in her Dance of death, swinging her sword at attackers, using her wings and claws to fend off others.
She was in her element, the field of battle and she was once again the most feared fighter of the court.
Her enemies fell by the dozen; the two kuei-jin helping her when slaughtering themselves any poor mortal who got in their way. But they found that Hikari was too much of an opponent for them, and their only chance had been when they were all attacking her. Hikari heard an inhuman roar fill the room, and the attacks on her paused.
Jin was on fire. He was trying to smother the flames, but they appeared to have life of their own. Near him, the smoldering corpses of two of his followers were a grim prophesy of his own future. The fox rushed him, and the demonic undead was thrown back several meters.
Hikari continued to decimate the enemies in front and around her, but she also found it harder and harder to control the P'o within her, especially since she still was in her demon form. When she was certain that she would be able to fend off any attacker in her human form, she shifted back, deactivating the demonic gift.
She was short one undead opponent: the sword wielder had ran off, but she didn't see where. The flesh manipulator was much too slow, and her goblin sword cut him to ribbons before continuing with the humans.
Another inhuman cry, and she now say Jin being torn off by something... Kaze was holding his hands forward, and the wind appeared to come alive in invisible blades that slashed mercilessly at the vampire, feeding the flames on him instead of smothering them. All the humans stopped fighting... at least the few of them that remained, and soon broke off running, exiting via a hole in the wall the first and wisest kuei-jin had punched to escape.
Hikari watched the retreat of the others, her inner self fighting back the P'o which was still trying to gain control over her, but now in her human form with less success.
Then she turned around to look for Kaze.
When she laid eyes on him, she broke into a run and quickly reached him, pulling the Kitsune into a tight hug.
"Oh gods Kaze, I was so afraid. I woke up and you were not there and no message...and then Jin showed up and..." she stopped.
She was indeed feeling joy at seeing him alive and that was something very rare for a Kuei-jin. Pure, untainted joy.
Kaze shifted back to human form, caressing her hair with the hand that wasn't holding her.
"I'm sorry, my pretty." He whispered. "When his mortal goons ambushed me, I knew there had to be more spies around; I couldn't lead them home, so I followed them and snuck in here. I was about to send a message when you showed up. I'm sorry."
She nodded into his embrace, but didn't say anything anymore. Words couldn't express the joy she felt and the happiness over the fact that she was indeed feeling this joy.
She rested in his arms a long while, amidst all the destruction, not caring for the world that she had just helped to destroy some of her kind.
"Hi... kari..." Jin rose, demon form lost, but smoking and bleeding, almost into Final Death. "The court... the... they... will... deal you..."
She jumped slightly and turned, slipping from Kaze's ambrace slowly and approaching Jin.
"It was all your fault Jin. All your fault..." she whispered.
"I will deal with the court when the time arises. I doubt that they are waiting around the corner to deal with me."
"Trai... tor..." He croaked, his arms trembling, rage still moving him, but without his strength, he could only direct it inward. "Consort to... animals..."
"Besides, " Kaze joined her. "I heard your little friends trying to talk you out of this, Jin-kun. 'The Court will not approve' was said a lot of times."
"And I do think so, too. The court has had no reason so far to test or criticize me openly, for I have always been loyal, moreso than you. If you want to think back to the start of this massacre, you were the one issuing the attack order, so it was YOU attacking ME. The court doesn't like Kuei-jin attacking Kuei-jin with no valid reason."
"And the Elemental Courts will back her up if it comes to that. I called the spirits of Wind and Fire tonight, and they were witness." Kaze said.
"Curse... both of you..." Jin's legs gave up, and he fell hardly. "Both of you... to Hell..."
"Oh, Jin..." Hikari whispered and inclined her head slightly.
"Always trying to be the winner, even if you went all the wrong road. I could have killed you here and now, but I won't."
She nodded slightly and turned to Kaze again.
"Shall we go?"
"Let's." He said, taking her arm. "We have places to go, people to see... aaaaand... " He pinched her backside softly and playfully. "Things to do."
"Heh!" she playfully batted at his hand and leaned into him as they both left the scene of the massacre behind.
For the moment, she couldn't care less about any courts. Kaze had once more managed to make her feel like she was human. To let her feel human emotions. And once again she was edging further on along her Dharmic path.