A/N Hey guys, looks like I'm on a roll with this story so let's hope that I can keep it up since I can't wait to do the Devil May Cry arc so, without further ado, enjoy.
It has been a few years since that night I saved the two human kids and my old friends, where I had decided to keep an eye on them as I discovered that those kids were Kekkaishi and that they were tasked to protect Karasumori from the Ayakashi that were drawn to the place because of the energy that was coming off it.
I had learned that those kids were named Yoshimori Sumimura and Tokine Yukimura while Ginro was now called Madarao, which made me wonder if he had changed his name after I died but I did notice that he and Hakubi weren't exactly friends if their tense and mocking interactions between each other told me anything.
As for Tokine, she thankfully recovered from her injuries but her arm has a nasty scar now and Yoshimori has been pushing himself and acting more reckless, making me wonder why he was taking such unnecessary risks and I started pondering if Tokine getting injured was what was driving him to do that.
I wouldn't blame him if that was the case since no one should have to witness that at such a young age but either way, Yoshimori had a lot of power in him that had piqued my interest but his accuracy and discipline needed work so I watched him trying to get stronger and I had to admit that he had potential and just needed guidance to steer him in the right direction.
Now Yoshimori and Tokine are teenagers and still performing their duties as Kekkaishi while I wondered if I should reveal myself to them and my two old friends, only I decided that it was too risky since there was no telling how two Kekkaishi would react to my current appearance so I decided to keep my identity a secret for the time being.
I was currently in my spirit form, calmly flying above the town during the daytime and while the sunlight affected me to where I was weakened a little bit from it, I still enjoyed the sights and flying never got old since I always had wondered what it would've been like to actually fly back when I was alive.
I was quietly humming a random tune from some rock song that I listened to back when I was alive, though I couldn't exactly recall the lyrics to the song since it had been a long time but it wasn't that much of a big deal as I was flying to the homes of the two Kekkaishi to see how they were doing since I knew that today was a school day for them.
Pretty soon, I arrived at the neighborhood where Yoshimori and Tokine lived when I saw their homes that were separated by only a stone wall and I do recall that their families have some kind of rivalry if the antics of Yoshimori's grandfather and Tokine's grandmother during their encounters with each other told me anything.
I spotted Yoshimori and Tokine leaving the front gates of their homes in school uniforms and chatted for a little bit which resulted in Tokine shouting at Yoshimori for some reason, then they both started to make their way to school and I decided to check up on them later as I decided to visit Madarao and Hakubi since I hadn't seen them since last night.
I made sure to mask my presence as I flew down to the front yard of Yoshimori's house, changing into my anthro form as my clothes and weapons appeared on my body before I headed over to the dog house that had Madarao's name on it but I knew the spirit canine was currently in some form of hibernation because of the daytime and I had been hesitant in speaking with him and Hakubi during the day since I didn't know if they could hear me or not while in their current state as I headed over to the dog house and kneeled down in front of it with one of my hands resting on the dog house.
"Hey Ginro, or are you calling yourself Madarao now? I don't know if you can hear me or not right now but that doesn't matter because what's important is that I've finally found you and Hakubi after searching for so long.
I'm not sure why Kouya isn't with you two or what happened after I died but I do know this, I've missed you both and Kouya for so long these past 400 years that I was beyond happy to finally see you two again.
Well, I'm gonna go check on Hakubi but before I do, I just wanted you to know that you don't have to feel guilty for what happened that day because I made my choice and I would've done it all over again if it means that I could save Kouya's life so I have no regrets about it.
Anyway, I'll see you soon," I said before standing up, wiping a single tear away as I started feeling emotional and managed to compose myself before jumping over the stone wall and heading into the Yukimura family property.
I went over to Hakubi's dog house and proceeded to chat with him for a little bit before I decided to leave so that I could check on Yoshimori and Tokine, changing into my spirit form with my clothes and weapons disappearing when I flew away from the two compounds and started to make my way to the school.
I arrived at the school after flying for a short time and started sniffing the air, picking up the scents of the two Kekkaishi in different sections of the school so I went to check on Tokine first before tracking her scent to the high school section of the academy and made sure I wasn't seen as I peeked through the window.
I could see that Tokine was in class at the moment as she was sitting at her desk and listening to the teacher's lecture about math and equations, something that wasn't really my favorite subject back when I was alive but Tokine perked up and turned to look at where I was at.
Acting quickly, I ducked away before she could see me and let out a sigh of relief since that was close and I remembered that I wasn't masking my presence right now so she probably detected me or something, but I've noticed that this school had a few ghosts wandering around so she probably thought I was just a regular spirit.
Seeing that Tokine was doing alright, I headed over to the middle school section of the academy to check on Yoshimori and flew over to the window where his scent was coming from and took a look inside to see what he was doing.
My eyes softened when I saw Yoshimori resting his head on his desk and sleeping as he had a pillow with him, feeling sympathetic for the kid since he really does push himself so much just to prevent Tokine or anyone else from getting hurt and I respected him for that but I really wished that he wouldn't push himself like that since his body can only take so much strain until it burns out completely.
'Poor kid...you've really put the whole world on your shoulders, haven't you?' I thought solemnly as I was reminded of how I wanted the humans and Ayakashi to co-exist back when I was alive so I can understand how much of a burden it could be.
Either way, I flew away from the school so that I wouldn't get affected by the power of Karasumori and just floated around as I waited for Tokine and Yoshimori to get out of school while a few hours were going by, then I found myself getting bored and wondered if school would be over yet just as I heard the bell ring and spotted the students leaving the academy.
'Finally...man, I forgot that school takes all day,' I thought with a sweatdrop before I saw Yoshimori running out of the academy and sprinting his way back home.
Curious as to what had him so excited, I followed him and was surprised to see how fast he was running so something had him eager as Yoshimori kept running until he soon arrived back at his family's compound, then he bolted inside and I blinked at that.
"Damn, something has him excited," I muttered before flying down and making sure to mask my presence again until I changed into my anthro form.
I brushed off any dirt that was on me when I started picking up a sweet aroma that was very familiar to me, causing me to start sniffing the air as I tried to figure out what it is and started tracking it down to the back of the house, where it was coming from inside the kitchen.
'Oh my god, what is that scent? It smells so good,' I thought as my tail started wagging and I showed a pleasant smile at the sweet scent when I was taken off guard by shouting that broke out from inside the house.
I snuck over to the kitchen window and peered inside, seeing Yoshimori and his grandfather getting into an argument while Yoshimori was wearing casual clothes with an apron and a bandanna that was covering his head.
I didn't know what the argument was about, but from what I can tell, it didn't appear that Yoshimori's grandfather was very happy about his grandson being involved in baking and he was scolding him about it while Yoshimori got all defiant about it, which is probably why the argument broke out in the first place.
Pretty soon, I saw Yoshimori make a comment about making a cake styled out of the long-gone Karasumori castle, something his grandfather took offense to and started breaking apart Yoshimori's prototype cake and his grandson really didn't take that very well before a fight broke out between each other as I sweatdropped at what I was seeing before I stopped looking through the window.
'Geez, is it always like that here? I'd rather not deal with that kind of headache, thank you very much,' I thought as the fighting went on for quite a while until it eventually stopped and I heard the back door slide open.
I quickly jumped up onto the roof just as Yoshimori left the house and went over to sit down on a bench before he pulled off his bandanna, then he started looking lost in thought as I watched the kid and still couldn't get rid of that sweet scent that was on my mind so I decided to investigate what it is but that would mean sneaking into the house and I would have to be extremely careful so that I wouldn't get caught.
Pretty soon, Yoshimori stood up and went back inside when I took advantage of it by hopping down from the roof and heading over to the back door, carefully sliding it open and peering around to see if anybody was nearby but I couldn't see anyone and quietly snuck inside.
I could see that I was in the kitchen and started tracking that sweet scent that still brought a sense of familiarity to me that I didn't know why when I spotted a cake that made me freeze up and my eyes widen, the cake being a small strawberry one with white frosting as the strawberries were perfectly placed on the cake and the cake almost looked like something only an artist could come up with.
'Whoa...is that what I think it is?' I thought as memories of me enjoying a cake with strawberries and white frosting came flooding back and I started beaming as I stared at one of my favorite desserts.
It had been so long since I've had cake with strawberries and white frosting, not since I was alive and the smell was so good that I couldn't help myself anymore as I found myself eating the whole thing, then my taste buds exploded from the amazing flavors that my eyes bugged out and started sparkling.
'Holy shit, this is so delicious...that kid should own a bakery or something since I haven't tasted something so good in such a long time,' I thought as I held a blissful smile while my tail was moving around to express how content I was, accidentally unmasking my presence since my concentration had broken.
Suddenly, my ears perked up when I heard that someone was coming and reacted by leaving through the back door quickly and quietly, changing into my spirit form and flying away before anyone spotted me until I let out a sigh.
"Okay, that was close," I muttered in relief while I couldn't help but think about the cake I ate.
That was so damn good that it brought back memories of when I was alive, a soft smile of nostalgia appearing on my snout as I recalled celebrating my birthdays with my friends and family when my smile went away and I started feeling more solemn.
I realized that I haven't thought about my friends and family for a while now and it made me a little guilty since I can't even imagine how they took my disappearance and were never able to find me, something that must've been really awful for them so I guess the reason why I haven't thought about them in a while is that some part of me didn't want to feel that guilt again.
Either way, I wonder if I would be able to see them now as I can just picture their reaction to seeing what I looked like now and I let out a chuckle, though I had simply decided to pass the time by flying around for now so nighttime will come and that I would head to Karasumori.
The rest of the day went by after that until the sun went down and I regained my full strength again, just simply enjoying the night sky while making my way to Karasumori until I detected an Ayakashi entering the school grounds and started smirking.
"It's showtime," I mumbled as I continued heading to Karasumori until I arrived at the school and forced myself through the barrier.
I couldn't detect Madarao, Hakubi, and the Kekkaishi yet so I was a little surprised that I showed up before they did but I had no problem waiting for them to show up as I flew over to the roof of the main building, changing into my anthro form while landing onto the roof and flipping my hood up.
I passed the time by pulling my guns out and twirling them around while aiming at nothing in particular and mimicking gunfire, then I soon sensed Tokine and Hakubi arriving before I walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down.
I could see Tokine jumping over the locked gate while Hakubi simply flew over it before coming to a stop and proceeded to wait for Yoshimori and Madarao while they chatted for a little bit, though I noticed that Hakubi looked a little lost in thought about something and Tokine did ask him about it, only Hakubi reassured her that he was fine and I wonder if he heard me while I was talking to him earlier today as Hakubi scouted around to find the Ayakashi.
After that, Yoshimori and Madarao eventually arrived and I noticed that the latter looked tired so I wasn't surprised by that as Yoshimori chatted with Tokine and Madarao yawned during the conversation, prompting Tokine to state playfully that she was going to win tonight while Hakubi soon came back and they both started teasing Yoshimori, much to his annoyance.
Tokine threw a smoke bomb at Yoshimori and Madarao before quickly leaving, causing the young man to cough from the smoke and Madarao spoke to Yoshimori when they quickly moved from the area and started hunting the Ayakashi.
I continued watching as they ran through the wooded area of the school grounds while Madarao had formed two forearms to run on the ground, then they started disappearing from my line of sight so I jumped off the roof and dove down until I landed on one of the branches perfectly.
I hopped across many branches just in time to see Yoshimori and Madarao encountering the Ayakashi, which was shooting some kind of projectiles at them and Yoshimori was forced to use a kekkai barrier to shield him and Madarao so that they wouldn't get hit.
I just sat on the branch I stood on and simply watched while the Ayakashi darted away, then Tokine and Hakubi ran past Yoshimori and Madarao while the girl lectured him on letting the Ayakashi get away before Hakubi told him to stay out of the way, then Yoshimori looked irritated and ran forward but forgot about the kekkai barrier and smacked right into it face-first.
I sweatdropped at that as Yoshimori clutched his face and hunched over in pain while dispersing the kekkai barrier as Madarao stared at him with an unamused look, then the two continued to chase after the Ayakashi and I followed them while making sure to keep them in my line of sight.
I heard the sounds of fighting going on nearby and I assumed that Tokine and Hakubi caught up with the Ayakashi, so I went off in a different direction to get to their location even faster as the trees around me were like a blur because of my speed until I made it to where Tokine and Hakubi were at when I saw that the female Kekkaishi had conjured up a kekkai barrier to protect herself and Hakubi from the projectiles the Ayakashi was shooting at them.
'Time to join the party,' I thought with a grin as I pulled out my guns and launched myself forward before aiming at the projectiles.
I started shooting as the stone projectiles were being ripped apart by the powerful caliber bullets, startling Tokine and Hakubi if their expressions told me anything as I landed right in front of them and kept shooting until the Ayakashi quit firing projectiles at us.
"W-What the-" Hakubi sputtered in shock and disbelief before I sent him and Tokine a two-fingered salute.
"Hey, sorry to drop in unannounced but it looks like you two needed some assistance," I greeted while focusing my attention on the Ayakashi.
"Who are you?" Tokine questioned as she still sounded stunned by my sudden appearance before I chuckled.
"Oh, I'm just your friendly neighborhood demon and Ayakashi slayer but anyway, still need to take care of our current problem so talk to you later," I said while holstering one of my guns and pulling out my sword with my free hand.
I moved quickly and started shooting at the Ayakashi again while I noticed Yoshimori and Madarao arriving before doing double-takes at seeing me, though I didn't pay any attention to it as the Ayakashi was focused on me now since I was a much bigger threat and it kept dodging the gunfire while shooting projectiles back at me.
I sliced the projectiles being shot at me while still firing my gun at the Ayakashi before jumping and twirling around like a spinning top as I swung my sword around like a fan blade, ripping through projectiles while shooting through the air until I landed on the side of the building.
I started running across the wall while slashing at more projectiles and shooting back at the Ayakashi when it suddenly fired a much larger projectile at me, prompting me to holster my sword and I launched myself forward while pulling out my other gun.
I spun around like a corkscrew and fired both desert eagles in rapid succession as the projectile was being torn apart by the bullets until I smashed through what was left, speeding at the Ayakashi like an out-of-control wrecking ball before flipping forward and sending my feet right into its face.
The Ayakashi was sent flying through the air and I kicked myself off the building, moving through the air at an impressive speed as I dove past the Ayakashi and zipped to the ground when I landed with a loud thud and pulled out my sword after holstering one of my guns, thrusting my sword up and the Ayakashi was impaled onto the blade before I aimed my gun up at it.
"Bang," I declared with a smirk and started shooting the Ayakashi, its body getting peppered by bullets as it jerked more than once from the impacts when I eventually stopped shooting and the Ayakashi looked like swiss cheese at this point, then I swung it to the ground and the body collided with it as a loud crash broke out and I pulled my sword out of the Ayakashi's dead body.
I could see Madarao, Hakubi, and the two Kekkaishi staring at me with their eyes wide and their mouths open as they gazed at me with bewilderment and disbelief, then I holstered my gun and sword before turning to them with my hand up in a greeting.
"Hello, I see you four are in awe of my performance? No need to applaud, just another day's work for me," I remarked before jumping up and sitting on one of the branches.
"W-Who the hell are you and how did you do that?!" Yoshimori exclaimed in shock before I smirked.
"That would be telling and as for how I did that, perks of being a demon and Ayakashi slayer," I answered cryptically and Tokine perked up.
"Wait, my grandmother mentioned that there was someone recently killing demons and Ayakashi while she received word of it from higher up but I never thought I'd actually meet you," Tokine said with a look of surprise and I chuckled.
"Guilty as charged, though I'm not surprised that word about me has spread so I should be going," I said and was about to leave when Yoshimori cut in.
"Hold on, something about you is familiar...wait, were you at my house?" Yoshimori questioned with a look of suspicion and I let out a sheepish laugh while rubbing the back of my head.
"Uh, I may have been at your house and I might've...eaten one of your cakes," I admitted with a look of embarrassment while most of the others look flabbergasted by the confession and Yoshimori looked pissed.
"So, you were the one who stole one of my cakes?! You bastard, I'm going to kick your ass!" Yoshimori shouted as he took a few threatening steps forward, prompting Madarao and Hakubi to quickly bite down on the back of his uniform and tried to prevent him from attacking me as Tokine got in his way to hold him back.
"You idiot, he took down that Ayakashi like it was nothing so do you really want to pick a fight with someone like that?!" Tokine scolded but Yoshimori didn't look phased by it as he glared at me with bloody murder in his eyes.
"Shut up, I don't give a damn if he's strong enough to take out that Ayakashi because he stole something I worked really hard on so I'm going to teach that fucking thief a lesson!" Yoshimori retorted with a tickmark and I sweatdropped at how determined he was to kick the crap out of me for eating one of his cakes.
"Easy, I know I shouldn't have done that but I just couldn't help it since smelled so good and tasted just as amazing," I reassured and that caused Yoshimori to pause, then Madarao and Hakubi let go of the back of his uniform and they both sighed in relief now that the male Kekkaishi wasn't attempting to attack me.
"Wait, really?" Yoshimori asked while a glint of anticipation appeared in his eyes.
"Yeah, it was one of my favorite desserts and I haven't eaten one in a long time, so you should start up a bakery or something since you have a real talent for it," I complimented and Yoshimori started looking pleased while beaming at the comment when Madarao turned to look at me with a dry look.
"Oh dear, now you've done it since he won't be able to shut up about it for weeks," Madarao groaned with a look of dismay and Yoshimori sent him an annoyed expression.
"You're just jealous because you can't bake and who the hell asked you, Madarao?" Yoshimori retorted before I chuckled at the banter.
"Well, I'm gonna get going since my job is done here so maybe I'll see you guys tomorrow night but one more thing, not all Ayakashi are evil and beware of Karasumori since there seems to be more to this place than meets the eye," I said and sent them a two-fingered salute before moving so fast that it was like I suddenly disappeared.
I left Karasumori and made my way across the city while in my spirit form, eventually arriving at a building before heading to the roof and changing into my anthro form so that I could sit on the edge and look up at the night sky, feeling happy that I spoke to Madarao and Hakubi since it felt so nice speaking to them again after being alone for 400 years so I just watched the stars for a while and hoped what tomorrow would bring.
A/N Well, looks like things are getting interesting but the fight against Yoki will happen in the next chapter and you'll get to see how dangerous and intimidating Chris really is when he's angry at seeing his friends getting hurt, so let me know what you think and stay tuned.
