Hello from Tokyo

Chapter 2

There was something to be said for the darkness that came before death. At least that was what Seishirou felt. He'd never really thought about what would come after he had died, but being shrouded in nothingness was one that had never crossed his mind. No matter, it was probably what he deserved.

But the pain he didn't understand. He had ceased to exist and yet, his body burned. Perhaps this was hell, but without a devil. He opened his eyes and peered out. A reflection of his younger self stared back. He couldn't help the smug look that crossed his face.

"I was ready to die. I lost to him and owed him that much." He said.

The reflection crossed its arms. "You're not dead Seishirou."

"How could I have survived what happened to me?" The shadow said nothing. Seishirou did his best not to look annoyed. "Answer me."

The reflection smiled and melted into a flurry of sakura. Before Seishirou could do anything, he rose from the darkness back into life.

……….

It had been one of the softest beds he had ever been in. Seishirou's eyes opened and took in the surroundings. The room held the décor of one of Tokyo's nicer hotels. How had he gotten here? He was positive he'd died in Subaru's arm. But the fact that he was alive raised even more questions than where he was.

He noticed his clothes upon the chair. If he moved quickly enough and was quiet he could leave before anyone knew he was even gone. He went to sit up and fell back. His chest was one fire. He screamed accidentally clinging to the burning wound. It felt like forever before it finally subsided.

The door opened and a figure entered, "Idiot," they mumbled. "I'm going to have to beat it in him before he understands the concept of how to wisely spend money."

"Who are you?" Seishirou growled.

The figure stared at him for a moment. "Aah, so your finally awake this time. You've been screaming in your sleep a lot lately." The figure opened the curtains and stared out. "I've seen some pretty winters in my day, but none like here." There was a silence, "My name is Ino by the way. We both seemed in a bit of a rush the first time we met and I didn't get a chance to properly introduce myself."

"You're the one who took my last cigarette."

"Bingo."

Seishirou cringed as he moved, "How long have I been here?"

Ino helped him, "A week tomorrow."

"Why does it hurt so much when I move?"

"When I found you there was a hole the size of a fist in your chest. I owed you a favor from earlier that day. Unfortunately since you were already dead it took all I had to pull you back into your body."

Seishirou stared hard at Ino for a moment, "You're a woman."

"Last time I checked," Ino said with a bit of a sarcastic tone. She got up and left the room for a moment only to return with water and what looked like medicine. "Here take this. Not only will it kill all the pain, it'll give you a nice little buzz on the way there." Seishirou hesitated, "Don't worry, if I wanted to kill you I sure as hell wouldn't use poison."

He placed the pills on his tongue and took in the entire glass of water. Ino watched him leaning against the window sill. She took the glass back from him when he finished.

"Now you're going to slip back into dream land pretty soon, so I guess before I do I should tell you that your pet tree is worried sick about you."

"You know about the tree." It wasn't a question.

"We have had our fair share of intimate conversation yes."

"What else…" But he was slipping into sleep to quickly.

Ino smiled and closed the curtains. "We'll talk about the fruit baskets when you wake up."

………….

"Now listen closely you two because this one's really important." Tzusuki and Hisoka ceased their war over what constituted as a healthy breakfast and turned to face Konoe and Tatsumi. Once Konoe knew he had their attention he continued. "The other day the name Sakurazuka Seishirou appeared in the Kiseki but there was no soul to follow."

He cleared his throat and continued; "On another note a well known rogue demon hunter was seen walking the streets of Tokyo that same day."

Tatsumi handed a picture to Hisoka. It wasn't a very good picture. The subject who he assumed was the rogue or the demon was blurry.

"We've never dealt with demon hunters before." Tzusuki chimed.

"That's because there aren't many demons in the Tokyo area. It would be a waste of his or her resources for someone to hunt out here. The demons that are known of in the Tokyo area are rather weak as far the species goes. Half breeds mostly. Since all demon hunters are taught western witchcraft skills in defense and attack methods most of the spells would have little hold in Tokyo and there would be a chance of defeat. Too much of a risk as well as waste."

"Then what makes this rogue so special?" Tzusuki asked now officially bored with the assignment.

"She was not trained in the usual technique. All of her skills come from demon blood coursing through her veins. Unlike regular demon hunters she consumes the powers of her victims which allows her to stay eternally youthful and gives her the ability to heal herself and others quickly."

"So your saying she brought this Sakurazuka guy back to life?" Hisoka asked.

Konoe shook his head, "Not exactly. There is a likelier possibility that she killed him and consumed his soul."

"Why?" Tzusuki asked.

"Because Sakurazuka Seishirou was the Sakurazukamori the keeper of the Sakurazukamori burial grounds. If the rogue did consume his soul then she has most likely taken the powers he had."

Tzusuki and Hisoka glanced at each other but said nothing.

"If she has killed him, you must retrieve her crystal." Tatsumi handed Hisoka another picture. This time, it was one of a crude purple stone bound to a piece of leather. "The souls of her prey are kept in that stone."

"But I thought you just said she consumes the souls." Tzusuki said now a bit more enthused by Tatsumi's glare.

"Precisely but she doesn't actually feed on the whole soul at one time, she stores them in there and uses the power when necessary. Not every demon she has killed had powers she could use. Some of them would have been poison to her."

"Then why does she consume them?" It was now Hisoka's turn for a question.

"Demons act like parasites. They posses a human and control their body. If that body was destroyed but the soul not bound or consumed that very same demon could have another body in a week." Tzusuki went to ask another question but Konoe spoke before he could. He was rather tired of playing twenty questions. "Get the crystal from the rogue and bring it back here. Be very careful with it. If it breaks you could unleash a hell on Earth. Even if the this hunter is rogue she is still by far one of the deadliest of her kind."

Tatsumi gave Tzusuki the rest of the assignment's information and wished them good luck. They were going to need it.

………..

Electra had reached the equivalent of Heaven in his mind. There were clothing boutiques on nearly every corner just ripe for the winter fashion picking. He thought for a moment he was going to cry. And he did but it was a cry of sheer joy as he started his hunt for everything he'd ever wanted.

He bounced from store to store picking out small things but it wasn't until he passed one with a display that held a very fancy white jacket that he had found his ultimate prize. He moved quickly to where the jackets were hung. Over the years he'd spent hunting for just the right outfit Electra had mastered the perfect technique for getting his size every time. But this time he had competition. Much to his misfortune as it would seem, another person who was fixed upon that coat also snatched onto it the exact moment he did.

Now being with Ino, Electra had promised not to kill any innocents. But this guy was pushing it. He looked up at his adversary. A boy, no older than nineteen stared back a wide smirk on his face. He was tall with a thin but muscular build. His hair was short and spiked and Electra took notice to the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. He liked them. He wanted them, Maybe Ino wouldn't find out if he killed the boy.

But as his thoughts turned to death Electra's grip fell loose. His opponent had let go. "I like your hair." He said in a calm tone.

Electra smiled, "I like your glasses."

"Monou Fuuma."

"Electra."

Fuuma smiled, "You have a good sense of style Electra.

"As do you."

"If you're not to far into your shopping, would you mind if I continued mine with you."

"It would be wonderful to have a companion for once in my life."

"Great."

As Electra went to pay for the coat he decided that perhaps after he'd finished what he'd started out to do he wouldn't kill Fuuma.

As Fuuma followed Electra to the counter he decided that perhaps after he'd finished what he'd started out to do he wouldn't kill Electra. Besides he could sense that his new friend was a demon and he was down an angel.

A/N: End of chapter 2