Chapter 8 – "We really were in sync! We did incredible!"
As Tsukune waited outside one of the series of torii gates leading to the Enforcer's underground base, he had a moment to think about what he was doing and why he was doing it. He was here to fight youkai who were clearly stronger than him. Kurumu didn't care about how strong he was, as she considered herself responsible for is continued survival at this academy. So then... was he doing this because he didn't want to be a burden to her? Did he feel like he owed her because of her dedication? Was he seeking to prove that he really did belong beside her, and that he did have a place here?
"I think you're overthinking things!" whispered Araiko to him. "Stay focused on what's ahead of you!"
"Ah right..."
What was coming out of said gates towards him was quite the menacing presence. The person was clad in the same all black garb as the Enforcers and he was a tall man with medium-length black hair cut so that only his left eye could be seen. He appeared to be quite relaxed, walking with casual arrogance, a smirk stretching across his face, hands in his pockets.
"...uh oh."
According to the plan, Tsukune was to distract whoever came out of these gates alone. A few friendly youkai were staying nearby, hidden from view, while the rest of the group split up to accomplish their own parts of the mission.
"...uh oh?"
"I uhhh... wasn't expecting him of all people to show up now."
"That's Retsuzo Kokyu, right?"
"Yes."
"...well, I don't need to beat him, right? I can try to just stall for time..."
"Well, he is a sadist... but he might just go for the kill instead. It's hard to tell with him. Remember, you can tag out at any time! Kusashi and I right behind you!"
Tsukune gulped.
"Right..."
Kokyu suddenly stopped in place, a bit of a distance away from Tsukune.
"Well, hello there~!"
"...umm, hello?" replied Tsukune.
Kokyu kept up his pleasant demeanor as he continued.
"Are you perhaps that Tsukune-kun I've heard so much about?"
"Ahh, yes, that's me."
"And you're perhaps here to turn yourself in?"
"Ahh, no. I'm here to demand you free my friend!"
Kokyu put a hand to his chin in a sarcastic manner.
"Ohh, I see... well, I suppose I have no choice then..."
He put his hands up in surrender...
"I guess we'll have to let her go~..."
...only to then immediately change his mind, put his hands down, and display a wicked grin.
"...If you can make us, that is, hehehe~."
"He's by himself," whispered Araiko. "And I don't think he'll take you seriously... you might be able to win this one."
I sure hope so...
"So that's it, then? You want me to fight you?" Tsukune asked.
"I'm interested in seeing what you can do... after all, I'd hate to disappoint our audience."
What!?
And in that moment of shock, Kokyu launched himself at Tsukune and kicked him hard in the gut. The force of the impact sent him flying towards a group of bushes and trees... from which Yukari and Kusashi emerged to catch him.
"Oh ho... but you know, what I meant by our audience was the other Enforcers. If you're here with him, I'll have to take you out too... unless you want to smash him for me, that is~."
Yukari ignored him, despite her fear, and focused on her friend. "Tsukune-kun! Are you alright?"
"Ughhh... I feel like I got hit with a sack of bricks..."
"Well, he is a golem. He's super durable, but he also doesn't have that many special tricks. But if you want me to take over..."
"No... I can do this Araiko-san... at least, let me try."
"...okay. But if it looks like you're about to die, I'm tagging in."
"Sounds good."
He then asked Yukari and Kusashi to put him down, and then started slowly walking back over to Kokyu, trying to ignore the pain. Judging by Kokyu's gleeful expression, it looked like he wasn't doing a good job of playing it off as nothing.
"Ah, good, I was hoping you'd come back for more. Come here, now. I'll even let you get a free hit in~!"
Tsukune gulped. Well, it was time to unveil the big surprise.
"...fine by me!"
He ran over to Kokyu screaming, while the youkai remained as calm as ever. He drew back his fist, and then, at the last possible moment...
"W-what the-!?"
...he flipped the switch. A youkai's energy, borrowed from Araiko, flowed through him. His body had been convinced to accept the energy due to Araiko's possession of him, all thanks to her powers as an inugami. Not only that, but he also gained some of her power, speed, and stamina as well. And with all that combined...
"Guh!?"
...Kokyu took a strong right hook to the face, making him stumble back a few feet. He then lay still for a bit before... starting to chuckle.
"Oh yes~. I don't know who you learned that little trick from, but..."
Kokyu now seemed quite pleased by this turn of events as he stood back up.
"...I'll have to thank you and them for this entertainment. I do hope you can keep this up~."
Tsukune gulped, and got into the fighting stance Araiko quickly taught him. He reminded himself of his mission – he didn't need to win; just to survive.
He had to hope he could at least pull that off.
Elsewhere, Kurumu, Mizore, and Kashi were lying in wait, hiding in a nearby set of bushes, waiting for a target to come into view. Kurumu was clearly agitated from having to leave Tsukune behind elsewhere, and having Mizore around reassuring her was the only thing stopping her from breaking ranks and flying over to him. As it stood, they had no idea what to expect, and could only hope they weren't all overwhelmed.
Mizore squeezed Kurumu's hand gently as Kashi kept an eye out on their surroundings.
"Someone's coming!" Kashi said in a harsh whisper. They all drew still.
Eventually, they could start to hear voices approaching them.
"I don't see anything yet!"
That was Akeno.
"Keep searching! They can't be far!"
That was Keito.
They could also hear wingbeats from high above, which should be Shirawashi.
...
And that seemed to be all. If it was just these three, they would be fine.
"Those accursed illusions! Making us all look like fools! I'll have that indecent succubus's head when I'm done!" exclaimed Keito, who was drawing nearer and nearer to their position. "Yes! I'll drain her dry! Her and her stupid human boyfriend too!"
Kurumu nearly started at that, but Mizore touch reminded her not to act. They needed her to come closer...
"Something's going on elsewhere!" exclaimed Shirawashi.
Closer...
"More intruders? Well... they're no match for the rest of the Enforcers. We can leave them be," commented Akeno.
Closer...
"Good! I don't want any distractions for when I-"
Now!
"-huh!?"
Kurumu and Mizore lunged at Keito from their hidden position, long nails and ice claws poised to strike. Meanwhile, vines suddenly emerged from the trees behind them, successfully grabbing Akeno while Shirawashi managed to evade them. Keito managed to fall back from the attack, but they got close enough that Kurumu managed to slice open Keito's cheek. Keito stared at them in silence, then glanced down at her bleeding cheek.
All at once, she partially transformed into a jorogumo and lunged at them in turn while screaming.
"HOW DARE YOU!"
Kurumu and Mizore split up as they evaded the attack, and Keito naturally went after Kurumu. Meanwhile, Shirawashi descended from the sky and went after Mizore.
"Hmm... I only got you, huh?" muttered Kashi to herself as her vines dragged in Akeno. "Ah, no matter. At least you won't be able to run away and get the others."
"You won't get away with this!" exclaimed Akeno. "None of you are any match for Kuyou, let alone the rest of the strongest. I don't know why you of all people would turn against our group, but your little coup is bound to fail."
Kashi chuckled, something Akeno didn't appreciate. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that. Just watch..."
And so, the two of them did.
Keito had fully unveiled her youkai form, her four spider legs emerging and creating a full set of eight limbs. As part of her youkai powers, she could fire sticky webs from her mouth, which she was using to take out Kurumu's illusionary doppelgangers from a distance as she approached her target. Kurumu, meanwhile, was retreating in a panic, trying to keep her distance.
She really has it out for me, huh? Alright, let's think of something... what about this!?
She and a few of her clones started closing in on Keito.
"Oh? As if you're a match for me!"
Keito spat out a series of shots of sticky webs, which each of the copies of Kurumu evaded... up until they couldn't. But the real Kurumu was able to keep away from the webs up until she was right in front of Keito and able to take swipes at her. The two clashed, blow for blow, spider claws meeting succubus nails.
Elsewhere, neither Mizore nor Shirawashi were getting anywhere. After the harpy's initial descent, the yuki-onna repelled her using her ice abilities. The harpy had then retreated back into the skies, where she could easily evade any incoming ice attacks. Of course, the harpy was limited to attacking with her claws, and so had to come in for a strike... where she was once again vulnerable. Yet... her speed let her dodge Mizore's attempts to ice her.
Mizore was at a loss of what to do. She paced slowly on the ground, keeping an eye on the skies. Nearby, she could hear the sounds of Kurumu and Keito fighting. The two were totally engrossed in their own fight.
...perhaps that was an opportunity.
Mizore turned away from Shirawashi, launching a small barrage of ice daggers at Keito's back. At the same time, she shouted out to Kurumu.
"Kurumu-chan!"
Thankfully, Kurumu noticed first and used her illusions to keep Keito distracted. The ice daggers nailed the jorogumo, giving Kurumu and opportunity to slip away and intercept Shirawashi, who had been poised to strike Mizore's own back. The two took their fight to the skies as Keito turned her attention to Mizore, glaring at the yuki-onna with all the hate she could muster.
"You... I'll make you both pay for this! DIE!"
As Keito lunged at her, Mizore prepared her ice claws. She felt that the tide had turned, even if only a little, in their favor. Now they just had to keep things that way.
"How long have we been down here? This place is like a maze..."
"That's intentional. It's so that people can't escape, even if they break out."
"But that's no match for my senses! Now then let's turn right here..."
Gin and Aoshiro were, at the moment, wandering around inside the Enforcer's base. They were accompanied by Monokuro, a friend of Aoshiro's. He had black and white hair, split evenly down the middle, and his true form was that of an oni. They had so far gone undetected, noticing a relative lack of security measures inside the prison (for that was where they were) compared to the outside. Then again, if the prison walls were durable enough to keep youkai inside... and if they were constantly on guard by some of the strongest youkai in the school... one could see why they thought such measures might not be needed. Said prisoners were also mostly ignoring them, although a few were pleading for release.
"...can't we do anything for these people too?" asked Aoshiro. "They can't all be guilty."
"We don't have time. Stay focused," replied Gin.
"Besides, if we want to have any chance of freeing anyone, we have to escape ourselves," added Monokuro. "Don't worry, when you're Student Council President, I'm sure you'll be able to do something for them."
"Ah, that's a good point! Thanks."
However, the prisoners were discontent and some started making a ruckus. Aoshiro responded by apologizing and... singing?
Strange song-like noises were coming from her throat. Monokuro had covered his ears and Gin followed his lead. After a few moments, the spell started to take effect, with the prisoners falling asleep.
All except one, who had done the same.
"Huh, a dragon? Don't run into one of those too often."
The trio walked up to the one awake prisoner in this area, and Gin saw a familiar face.
"Komiya Saizou. That cell suits you."
Saizou chuckled. "You'll get worse if you're not careful. What are you, a glutton for punishment? You really think they'll let you win this time?"
"We're not gonna give them another option."
"If you say so... none of you are any match for Kuyou, though. Not even Akashiya Moka."
"We'll see about that."
"...what are Kuyou's powers anyway?" asked Aoshiro.
Saizou looked at her as if she were an idiot, so Gin spoke up and mentioned that she was a first year. As a youko, Kuyou had a variety of powers. To be sure, he had the typical super-strength, endurance, and agility of a youkai, but he also had power of summoning and controlling mystical fire. He was also able to grow continuously stronger according to the number of tails he had, of which he currently had four.
"...in short, he's bad news. There's no way to beat him unless we work together with Moka-chan," Gin concluded.
"Hmph. Throw your lives away if you want. I only wish I could be there to see it!" said Saizou, who then proceeded to watch the trio as they marched on. But not long afterwards, Aoshiro had them hide in a closet, and they heard footsteps and voices coming down a hallway some distance away.
"Can't believe we're on cleanup duty..."
"That's what Kokyuuuuuu-kun gets for clownnnning arouuuund."
One of them sighed and the other laughed. Their voices retreated in the distance.
The trio exited the closet.
"That was Deshiko-san and Kibato-san. If they're going up... then is Kuyou by himself down here?" asked Gin.
"And did Tsukune-kun really manage to beat Kokyu-san?" asked Aoshiro. "I just hope he's not too beaten up."
"If we hurry, we can meet back up with them," pointed out Monokuro.
The three of them then made a dash for the center of the base... the place where Kuyou and Moka were residing alone... for now.
"Are you feeling better, Tsukune-kun?"
"Ah... barely. I'm still sore all over."
"Sorry... if I'd had time, I would have made a stronger healing potion."
"It's okay, Yukari-chan. I'm grateful even for this much."
Araiko, no longer possessing Tsukune, laughed heartily. "And I'm quite impressed! For a human, you did well."
She pointed over to Kokyu, who was on the ground, out cold, a few feet away from them, being watched by Kusashi for any sudden movements. "There's plenty of youkai in this school who couldn't do that! ...say, have you thought about learning martial arts for real? We always have room for more people in my MMA Club!"
"Ah... sorry, but I'll stick with my friends. But again, thanks for your help."
"No problem! Now I have all my stamina for our next opponents... whoever they'll be. Ooh, I hope it's Kibato-kun, he owes me a rematch~!"
She went off on a tangent, and Tsukune turned her out as he lay on the dusty ground, Yukari sitting next to him. He'd used up pretty much all his energy fighting Kokyu, and it felt like a miracle that he'd won. In some respects, it was. On his own, he would have had absolutely no chance. It was only because of Yukari and Araiko that he'd be able to live to tell the tale.
True to his relaxed demeanor, Kokyu hadn't taken Tsukune seriously at all, even with that initial demonstration of what he could do. The golem was content to let Tsukune wail on him, letting the human exhaust himself. Afterwards, he would go in for the kill. No dodging, and some retaliation and taunting. Tsukune, meanwhile, couldn't take the hits back. Each one felt like something had broken inside him, even while Kokyu was clearly holding back. He had dodged most of them, sure, but the ones that connected had taken a lot out of him.
Eventually, he had worn himself out enough that a critical blow by Kokyu had knocked him to the ground some distance away, and at that time he had a hard time recovering. He was barely able to stand up, but thankfully he managed to do it and to pull out the tool of last resort from his pocket – a pill that Yukari crafted from him in a pinch. Kokyu was too assured of his victory to care about such a thing and charged in for the kill... only to have his attack blocked by Tsukune, who could now unleash even more power... but only for a short time.
Thankfully, it was enough, and a few choice hits had taken Kokyu out seemingly for good.
And now, he could relax. Well, he could try to relax. He had no idea how the others were faring, and just had to hope things were going well for them.
"Well, look who it is!" exclaimed Araiko, suddenly. "I was hoping it'd be you two!"
The rest of them turned towards her direction to see...
"Araiko-chan... of course, you'd be involved in this mad scheme."
"Oh hooooo! An old friend of yours, senpaiiiii! How iiiiiinteresting~!"
...Kibato and Deshiko, the first annoyed and the second excited.
Tsukune just glared at them helplessly, while Yukari brought out her wand and Kusashi got in a fighting stance. Araiko, meanwhile, walked up to the two of them casually.
"You should have known I wouldn't pass this up, Kibato-kun~!"
"Hmph... look, it's not too late to turn back. Just hand over the human."
"Hmmmm... no, I don't think I will. In fact... I think I want you to fight me for him~.
"Araiko-chan, this is an order. Hand over that human, at once."
She stopped right in front of him, utterly unimpressed, and poked him in the chest.
"Why don't you make me~? If you can, that is~?"
Tsukune could see Kibato's expression briefly change, and then he swung... and missed, of course. Araiko then lunged at him, and the fight was on. Deshiko, meanwhile, was just standing back and watching for some reason. Kusashi kept up his guard, but decided not to provoke her.
"Hmmmmm~. Wonder who I should fiiiiiiiight~?"
The zombie glanced over at Tsukune and he shuddered. Yukari stood protectively in front of him. Deshiko chuckled at the gesture.
"Hahaha... not baaaaaad~. But no, it's not youuuuu. She's on the way."
...wait, what did she mean by...?
"Tsukune-kun! Are you okay!?"
He turned in a different direction to see Kurumu, Mizore, and Kashi heading their way with the fairy youkai in tow, tangled up in Kashi's vines. He could see that Deshiko was grinning at them wickedly, and by the time he was able to sound at a warning it was too late. She was on the move, ready for a fight with Kusashi tailing just behind her.
Kurumu and Mizore had arrived on the scene after having finally taken down Shirawashi and Keito, accompanied by Kashi and a still restrained Akeno. After switching foes, Kurumu and Shirawashi had fought in the skies while Mizore and Keito had fought on the ground.
The two fliers traded blows, nails for claws, but Kurumu could sense early on that Shirawashi had the advantage in speed and was taking full advantage of it. Rather than constantly staying on the offensive, she was being evasive, coming in for attacks and just as quickly retreating before Kurumu could retaliate. But with her illusionary powers, she became able to negate that through trickery, and in her confused state the harpy eventually fell to the succubus' assault, falling from the sky.
This left Kurumu free to help Mizore out, which the yuki-onna sorely needed. Keito was having no issues getting around her ice powers, whether it be by temporarily binding her up in webbing or just keeping her on the defensive.
"Mizore-chan! I'm coming!"
"Hm? Ah, perfect! Take this!"
"Kurumu-chan, look out!"
Keito had opened up by using her sticky threads to slam Kurumu into Mizore, sending the two of them flying. They crashed in a pile on the ground, and only barely managed to dodge Keito's next attack. But now that they were together, the advantage was now theirs. The two constantly traded places, leaving Keito off-balance and constantly on the defensive. Furthermore, Mizore finally had opportunities to use her ice powers for their advantage, forcing Keito to split her attention between breaking out of the icy shells and fighting them off. And as time passed...
"I won't... forget... this... ughhhh..."
...Keito ended up passing out from sheer exhaustion.
Kashi then chose that moment to re-appear and congratulate them on their success, and tied up the two fallen foes in a mass of vines, left to be dealt with after Moka had been saved.
"You could have helped out, you know..." Kurumu muttered as the three of them left to rejoin the others.
"Ohhh... but you two were handling things so well," Kashi replied. "I would have just gotten in the way. Especially near the end. You two were totally in sync! Have you been fighting together long?"
Mizore muttered out, "Ahhh... no..."
Kurumu took one of Mizore's hands in hers. "Hey, it's okay. But Kashi-san is right, we really were in sync! We did incredible! Oh, I can't wait to tell Tsukune-kun about this... speaking of which, let's get back to the others."
A blushing Mizore responded with a simple yes.
Kashi just nodded, and the three of them went off with their captive, whose mouth had been shut with vines so that she couldn't interject. As they got closer to the rest of the above-ground group, the scene became more and more clear. Tsukune had successfully taken out Kokyu, though not without taking himself out of fighting contention as well. Araiko and Kibato were fighting now. And as for Deshiko, she seemed to be idly chatting with the others...
"Take this!"
"Ahhhh!"
"Mizore-chan!"
...until she wasn't, having launched herself at Mizore. The zombie easily dodged Mizore's projectiles and was able to force her into close combat, a scenario where she was at a severe disadvantage. Having no other option, Kurumu joined in to help her friend. Meanwhile, Kashi went to regroup with Tsukune, Kurumu, Yukari, and Kusashi.
"Are you okay, Tsukune-kun?" she asked.
"I'll be fine... but what about..."
"Those two can work together well. I think they'll be fine. But just in case, Kusashi-san, maybe you should go help them?"
"Sounds good," he said, and promptly rushed towards their fight.
"The two of them beat Shirawashi and Keito, so I hope they'll be fine with his help. And now there's only one player missing."
And both Tsukune and Yukari knew who she meant.
Kuyou.
And inside the base, Kuyou was staring at the screens, absolutely stunned by what he had been witnessing.
First, that human Aono Tuskune had somehow managed to defeat Kokyu. Granted, Kokyu was clearly not taking the fight seriously, even though he should have been once the human revealed his little trick. So what if he was stronger? Someone resourceful enough to prepare for an encounter with clearly superior opponents in the short amount of time he was given wasn't someone who should be taken lightly. The golem's propensity to mess around had finally gotten to him.
Then, the succubus and the yuki-onna managed to take down Keito and Shirawashi. This one wasn't too surprising, though it still stung. Their abilities seemed to be somewhat comparable, with the improvised tactics and teamwork of Kurumu and Mizore being able to elevate them above their opponents. It was too bad. If only those two had done the same... but that could be remedied later. And Akeno would have to be pressed into some sort of combat training, no matter how much she complained...
Furthermore, that mutt and two students he didn't immediately recognize were running around in his base! And he was all out of other Enforcers to send out, since Shima and the Kamisori brothers were still recovering from their defeat...
"I'll have to take care of this myself!" he declared, getting up and heading for the door. But before he could do so...
"I don't think so... Kuyou..."
...he was suddenly in a tight grip, and there was a pressure on his neck...
...the pressure of a vampire's fangs!
"When did she-!?"
His train of thought was interrupted by something suddenly being drained out of him. His vision blurred, and he nearly stumbled to the ground. His blood... his holy blood was being drained!
The pressure and grip were both suddenly released and he fell over.
"Y-you!"
"Thank you for the meal... and goodbye."
When he turned to face the transformed Moka, he was greeted with a kick to the face, and was knocked to the ground. Stunned and dazed, he was unable to stop Moka from escaping.
Moka, meanwhile, held her rosary in her hands and talked to her other self as she ran to go find Gin and the others. "I told you... see? My plan worked flawlessly."
"I don't like your plans. They're so dangerous..."
"That's fine... as long as they work, you'll accept them, right?"
"Sure... just, be careful, okay? Not everyone is as durable as we are."
"Very well... the others are just up ahead."
Having had nothing better to do, the two Mokas had spent their time as captives ignoring the Enforcers and trying to figure out the layout of the base, meaning they now had a decent idea of how to get around. As such, it only took her a few minutes for them to find Gin, Aoshiro, and Monokuro, despite how long the three of them had been wandering around.
"My darling Moka-chan!" Gin exclaimed the instant he saw her.
"I'm not your darling, Gin-kun... and we must hurry. Follow me."
"Where are we going?" asked Aoshiro.
"And how did you find us? Weren't you being held captive?" asked Monokuro
"We've been studying this place since we got here. And I took advantage of your diversions to weaken Kuyou... by drinking some of his blood and fleeing. But he'll recover soon."
Sure enough, there was a rumbling noise in the distance, accompanied by the base suddenly shaking as if there was an earthquake. Alongside those events was the sudden presence of a powerful and menacing fiery aura... it was as if they were suddenly outside on a hot summer's day... or perhaps in an oven. Regardless, they forced themselves to continue on... closer and closer... reaching a staircase leading out of the base...
...and an explosion followed them, sweeping them away in a flaming blast.