Chapter 8 - Judgement
A man of red hair wakes up floating in what looks like a river.
"Huh?" - Says the man realizing his body is floating in this strange river of green water
The man gets up and starts looking everywhere around him. Here he sees what it seens like a strange empty desertic land, with a strange grey sky and the river where he was
"(What is this place?!)" - Ask for himself the strange shadow
"(Kusanagi! You bastard! Where did you sended me to?)" - The Strange Shadow looks now more clearly at his reflect in the water revealing himself to be Iori Yagami
"(What I'm doing here?)" - Iori
"(Did he? D-Did he actually dared to?!)" - Iori was pissed off as he started moving through the river remembering about his last battle with Kyo
"(How is this possible?!)" - Iori didn't want to admit defeat but he didn't know what he could do against Kyo now
Iori felt his neck being trapped by a strange force. It was Athena now using her powers to choke Iori
"(Argh, YOU!)" - Iori saw the idol of purple hair looking at him with an evil grin
"(Now, Kyo! Finish off with him!)" - Athena
"(Hehehe, see, Yagami? Even Athena is tired of your crap!)" - Kyo turned on a flame in his finger.
Kyo throwed the small flame to Iori- When the flame came in contact with him it vanished
"(What?)" - Iori was confused
"(ARGH! KUSANAGI! )" - Iori suddenly felt how a big pillar of red crimson fire came out of the ground. He felt how his skin was being melted
"(It's not supposed to end like thisss!)" - Screamed Iori as he was trapped by the pillar of flames while Athena and Kyo just watched it
"Grrr! KUSANAGI! You and your stupid girlfriend will pay for that." - Said Iori ending his memories as he continued walking through the strange river
Iori continued walking throught the river, feeling how the cold winds started to become stronger and in a impressive way Iori was sended way back almost to the place where he woke up
"Damn winds!" - Iori got up again and started walking
As Yagami keeps walking more inside the river, he starts hearing whispers and suddenly a strange fog starts covering the entire place. Making Iori felt confused
"What the hell?!" - Iori
"Huh? Who is there?!" - Asks Iori as the whispers become louder
"Iori. Iori." - Said the strange voices
Yagami continues walking
Suddenly Yagami trips himself with something on the river, her gets up and sees the thing that tripped him
For Iori's surprise he sees tons of bones in the water.
"WHAT?" - Iori
Iori ignores the bones and continues walking in what looks like a big river
"(I can't see anything! This damn fog is... Is covering the entire place!)" - Thought Iori as he continued walking not knowing what was ahead
"IORI! WHY DID YOU DO IT?!" - Said the strange voices calling Iori
"Grrr.." - Iori ignored them and continued walking
"YOU DIDN'T MANAGE TO KILL KUSANAGI!" - Said one voice managing to call his attention
"Who dares to say that?!" - Iori turned to see who had said that but there was nobody
"Tch! What is this nonsense?" - Iori continued with his path as he saw trees appearing in the river
Iori keeps walking as the voices become even more louder taunting him as if they were close to his ears
"You failed Iori!" - Stranger
"Poor Yasakani loser!" - Stranger
"You should regret it!" - Stranger
"You deserve this!" - Stranger
"Nowhere to run now!" - Stranger
"Grr!" - Iori was angry but he continued walking ignoring the voices
"I shall get out of here! Whatever this place is!" - Iori
Iori keeps walking
"(Kagura! This is all your fault!)" - As Iori keep walking he started to think about Kagura
"(You and that stupid Succubus are the responsable of my demise!)" - Iori
"(How I was going to know Kusanagi would have become so stronger?!)" - Said The Incubus voice surprising Iori
"(You! I thought you were gone by now?)" - Iori
"(Why I would be? I'm part of you now, remember that I'm just a part of your soul that took a different form?)" - Incubus
"(So you were responsable for those whispers?)" - Iori
"(No. Now that you mentioned that, where we are, Iori?)" - Incubus
"(I don't know but I don't like this place at all!)" - Iori
"(Do you think, Kusanagi kil-)" - Incubus
"(Don't you dare to assume that! We are still alive, there's no way that worm managed to kill me!)" - Said Iori angry interrupting his Incubus
"(So what are you planning to do once we get out of here?)" - Incubus
"(Once I get out of here I'll take care of Kusanagi and his Psycho freak girlfriend, then I'll kill Kagura for having caused all of this!)" - Iori
"(Why Kagura? She never did anything to us, in fact she loves us!)" - Said the Incubus
"(WHY DO YOU DEFEND HER SO MUCH?!)" - Iori was angry at the Incubus always defending Kagura when he talked awfully about her
"(A better question is why you hate her so much?)" - Incubus
"(She is responsable for Kusanagi becoming stronger, she and the idol!)" - Iori refered to Chizuru and Athena
"(But she is the only one that loves us for who we are.)" - Incubus
"(I don't care about her dumb feelings nor do I care about her.)" - Iori
"(Not even one bit?)" - Incubus
"(No. Love is for the weaklings! True strenght comes from oneself. Besides, just the thought of imagine myself living in Kagura's mansion gives me sickness!)" - Iori
"(Wouldn't be good to be millionaire? Having a good life full of luxury and wealth, instead of having to play in that awful club?)" - Incubus
"(No. Can we stop talking about her!)" - Iori
"(Alright, what about Kushinada, Kurosaki and Kagami?)" - Incubus
"(Kurosaki is crazy, Kagami will always be Tsuki's weird childhood friend and Kushinada is just a very dumb woman.)" - Iori
"(None of them mean nothing to me.)" - Iori
Iori sees in the distance a strange figure in the edge of the river. He is astonished as he recognizes this figure, it was his dad looking at him firmly while he walked throught the river
"(What the hell?!)" - Iori
As soon as Iori blinked, his dad wasn't there anymore.
Iori continues walking but suddenly
"Yasakani!" - A female whisper is heared in the river
In that moment the winds start blowing more stronger again, Iori quickly grabs to a tree nearby, managing to avoid being launched backwards by the strong wind
"That was close." - Iori continued walking through the desert, at this point he didn't have any idea of how many meters had him walked but it felt like an eternity
"(Why do I felt we are just walking in circles?)" - Thought Iori looking how the river still looking the same and it seen there was not end
Suddenly Iori sees a strange blue haired man with his face in shadows, wearing a brown jacket, blue pants, red cloak and blue gloves sitting in the edge of the river. Unlike his dad, this man doesn't disappear when Iori blinks
"Hmph! You look kinda familiar, have we meet before?" - Said the blue haired man
"I have never seen something like you before, what are you doing here?" - Asked Iori trying to get answers of the place where he was
"I'm here because of my actions! As a punishment! You see my creators weren't that proud of me, they told me I was just a cheap knock off, that they didn't have plans for me anymore!" - Said the strange man
"Can you believe them! They erased me as if I had never existed, me! One of the best creations of NESTS being throw away like nothing! HAHAHAHAHA!" - The blue haired man starts to laugh looking at the grey sky as Iori just looks at him not understanding what is going on
"(NESTS? Bah, I have more important stuff that stay here and listen to some delusional guy.)" - Thought Iori leaving the man as he continued screaming to the sky
"WHY DID YOU HAD TO REPLACE ME, DAD?!" - Screamed the blue haired man to the sky as Iori just keeps walking
As Iori keeps walking he suddenly felts two hands coming out of the ground and grabing his feet. Iori tries to defend himself using his flames but for his surprise he doesn't have them anymore.
"(What? Where's my flames?!)" - Iori tries to use his flames but they just don't appear anymore.
Iori decides to use the fighting style of his clan and even without his flames manages to free himself from the two hands
"Argh! This is getting annoying!" - Iori
As Iori continues to walk he sees the fog starting to disappear. This makes him felt better believing to be almost at the exit of whatever was this place
But suddenly for his shock he sees a familiar figure in the distance
"(She! What is she doing here?!)" - Thought Iori as he sees the back of a black haired woman wearing a white vest with black pants and a white headband standing there.
"(Kagura!)" - Iori realized who was this person
"What are you doing here, Kagura?" - Iori
"Oh, I don't know. I guess I just wanted to see the man who hurt my dear sister." - Said "Chizuru" In a very younger tone making Iori be confused as this tone sounds like a girl of 17 years not 22 like Chizuru
"You! You're not Chizuru!" - Iori grabs the woman and turns her to see her in the eyes
Iori's feels cold shivers as this young looking woman dressed the same as Chizuru looks like a zombie with no lips and no pupils. He backs off
"Don't you recognize me, Yagami?" - Said the strange woman
"Maki Kagura!" - Iori realized this was Chizuru's younger sister who had died years ago
"I suppose you haven't realized where you are?" - Maki
"No, and I don't care to know. Now move out of my way!" - Iori
"Hehehe. Even in dead you will never change!" - Said this Zombified version of Maki
"Don't force me to kill you again!" - Said Iori trying to hold his calm
"Come! Try to kill me!" - Maki
In that moment Iori felts more shadows coming out of the water
"WHAT?!" - Iori
Iori sees alot of familiar faces from his parents, some fighters he fought in his younger days, Kyo, Athena, Shermie, Chris, Yashiro, Goenitz, even Vice and Mature
"(What is this place?!)" - Iori thought now nervous but still trying to keep the calm
All the shadows start attacking Iori. Iori now angry defends himself from this shadows.
"I'm not dying here!" - Iori managed to cut and destroy most of the shadows leaving only Maki there.
"Hmph!" - Maki
Iori and the zombified Maki clash their fists but suddenly Maki does a move with her palm sending Iori flying back falling to the water.
Maki launches towards Iori, now on top of him she bites him on the shoulder
"URG!" - Iori felts how Maki's teeth take a chunk of his shoulder
"I wont let you escape, Iori!" - Maki
"You're wrong, Kagura. I'm getting out of here one way or another!" - Iori slices Maki's throat and throws her with his legs
"And as far as I concerned, death people don't talk!" - Iori saw how Maki fell into the water but he lost her out of his sight
Maki didn't came out of the water. Iori continued walking seeing how the color of the water started changing to a clear blue
"Huh?" - Iori thought there was finally a exit ahead
"What is that? Sunlight?" - Iori saw how a strange light could be seen in the horizon
Iori starts hearing birds now as he realizes this part doesn't look as grim as the rest of the river.
"A waterfall?!" - Iori looks at how the end of the river is a waterfall. For his surprise he manages to see more people in the other side of the canyon that was in front of the waterfall.
"(There's people in the horizon, where I am?)" - Thought Iori as the waterfall suddenly starts dragging him strangely enough as the level of the water is really low
"(I need to jump to the other side!)" - Iori now almost at the edge of the waterfall decides to jump
"GO IT!" - Thanks to his new Incubus abilities Iori manages to jump to the other side and he now looks at a strange place full of grass, people and a strange giant wall where he sees in the entrance a large line of people entering
"What is this place? Is this? NO! There's no way I'm actually in?" - Iori started to think something that he thought it was a myth
"Life after death?" - Said Iori astonished as he just took a look at the place in front of him
He saw two lines of people, one waiting to enter to the giant wall where strange towes could be seen and one line walking to what it looks like a cavern
In the entrance of both the cavern and the wall, he saw different people. In the wall there was two blonde people, a men and a woman whose bodies brighted like the sun letting people in.
In the cavern there was a men and a woman again, but they had their skin of a blazing red tone as they let the people in the line enter.
"Hey, you! What are you doing out of the limbo?" - Said one man pointing towards Iori who looked similar to the two people in the entrance of the wall pointing
"(Argh! What is with this guy? His body emits a strange light that doesn't let me see well.)" - Thinks Iori covering his eyes with one arm as he is in front of this man
"Who are you and what is this place?" - Ask Iori as he stills covers his eyes with his arm
"Haven't they told you already?" - Says the man as now other four people like him appear
Two of the men take Iori from his arms. Iori angry at them touching him starts trying to defend himself and even if he doesn't sees he starts fighting with this men
"Stop him!" - Says of the men
Iori continues defending himself with his eyes closed as he fights everytime he felts someone close to him
"Enough!" - In that moment a female voice is heared. A strange giant bone hand comes out of the ground and manages to grab Iori
"What is this?!" - Screams Iori as he starts feeling strange as if he was slowly dying
"Sleep." - Says a hooded woman whose face can't be seen by Iori as she appears making the men leave both Iori and this hooded figure
"Argh!" - In the moment Iori closes his eyes.
Some moments later
"Where I am?" - Says Iori opening his eyes looking at how his arms are chained in what looks like a strange temple
"In trial." - Says the hooded woman from before as suddenly the place fills out with light as if someone had turned a switch on.
"..." - Iori
"Exactly, Iori." - Says the woman
"How do you know my name?!" - Asks Iori surprised that the woman knows him
"I know every soul who enters this plane of existence as I'm in charge of guiding them to their eternal rest." - Woman
"And let me tell you, in all my existence I had never seen someone like you. You're quite the character, Yagami." - Woman
"..." - Iori doesn't answer while trying to look at the face of the hooded woman
"Let's see Iori Yagami. Born on March 25. Your mother Shizuka Yagami died when she gave birth to you as part of the curse of your clan after making a deal with Orochi, dictating that every woman who gives birth to the next heir of the Yagami clan must die in order for the son to be a Yagami of pure blood. Blood type, O. Ever since you were a kid, you wanted to be a great musician inheriting that from your mother. You also developed certain hate for violence after the fisical abuse your father gave you as a kid, knowing well you were unable to defend yourself against him, I ain't right?" - Said the woman
"Hmph!" - Iori felt strange as if someone had looking throught his soul. The only ones who were able to do that in the past where Chizuru and Athena
"So, how did you managed to escape out of limbo?" - Asks the hooded figure
"Limbo? Hehe, you mean that strange river full of cheap scares that looks endless?" - Iori
"Yes, that's what I mean! You were supposed to stay there forever but how did you managed to escape?" - Strange Hooded woman
"I just keep walking until I saw the canyon at the horizon." - Iori
"Yo-You didn't fell in the waterfall?" - Asked the woman
"I jumped before falling." - Iori
"(I guess I underestimated this man, if he had fallen to the waterfall he would have appeared again in the beginning of the river. The people that are sended there eventually become crazy trying to escape. How did he managed to jump so precisely?)" - Strange Woman
In that moment a man of red skin with goat feet and one big red horn, wearing a look similar to a samurai enters the temple where Iori and The woman are
"Mistress Death. I suppose you're ready for this?" - Says the man
"Yes, Yam." - Said Death removing her hood revealing a woman of white skin and large black hair.
"Iori, this is King Yam. He has offered himself to be the one who will judge all your deeds in life. Because of your former link to Orochi and your soul having the same essence of the one of an Incubus when you died. We have decided to classify you as a demon." - Says Death
Suddenly the entire temple is filled with strange men and woman of red skin.
"Yagami Iori, always walking on a tin line between good and evil. When Mistress Death had to go for your soul, we were not sure if sending you to hell or paradise as you had done such questionable acts, especially some days before you died." - Yam
"As you should know Limbo is where the souls that have not salvation end up. Normally, only people who took their own life end up there but we decided to put you there since the guardians of paradise and hell rejected you as they are currently busy with a problem." - King Yam
"So you will the one to judge me? Just what I needed today!" - Said Iori in a sarcastic way
"Listen, you both. I don't considerate myself as a hero, villain or whatever you want to classify me as! Nor do I care about participating in this stupidity." - Iori
"SILENCE! Yagami, you will only answer to us when is needed and only that! Any interruptions will just force us to return you to the Limbo." - Said King Yam getting just an angry look from Iori
"... Are the chains really that necessary? Do I afraid you freaks so much that you need to have me tied as an animal." - Iori
Death walks in front of Iori and both look at each other in a serious way
"... Another interruption and you will return to Limbo." - Death puts two of her fingers in Iori's forehead making Iori felt like he was burning like the same way he died
"Argh! You-" - Iori
"Shall we continue?" - Says Death to King Yam
"Yagami, we have revisited your historial. And we have to agree that this is a mess." - King Yam pulls out a big sphere of crystal in a strange stone table
"Sometimes your actions run towards the more neutral spectrum but occasionally you tend to act more towards evil than good." - King Yam
"One day you're singing in a orphanage for a charity event and another day you end up almost killing someone fighting only because they provoke you." - King Yam
"So much for someone who hates violence. But that's not all. Most of the time you end up also hurting most people around you or pushing them away." - King Yam
"Always hurting and betraying anyone who dares to have any contact with you." - King Yam
"That is a total lie." - Said Iori in a dry tone
"Your sister, the members of your old band, everyone who has teamed up with you to enter in any competition, Chizuru Kagura and especially Kyo Kusanagi would disagree with that statement." - King Yam
"... You're trying to make me feel bad, really?" - Iori
"Oh not at all. Ever since childhood you have always avoided creating any links with anyone, why?" - Interrupts Death
"You really want to know?! I'll tell you, I don't need nobody getting in my way." - Iori
"Getting in the way of what? Of your so called mission? The same mission that ended sending you here in first place?" - Said Death refering to Iori's clan mission of Killing the heir of the Kusanagi
"..." - Iori didn't answer
"The same mission that made you kill tons of women in a spam of seven weeks by orders of a Incubus? That's right, Iori. We know about your little deal." - Death
"What happened, did this Incubus told you would be able to kill the heir of the Kusanagi if you gave your soul to him?" - Death
"You wouldn't understand. The Incubus gave me the power I needed alongside the freedom of getting rid of Orochi's influence without losing my Magatama." - Iori
"He was using you, Yagami! You were his puppet!" - Death
"(That's not true!)" - Said the Incubus voice to Iori
"Even if that's the truth. I don't have any regrets!" - Iori
"Is that a confession?" - King Yam
"How do you declare yourself, Iori?" - Death
"Guilty! As I told you, I have not regrets!" - Iori
"Good! Then I suppose we're done here. Back to Limbo with you!" - Death
"Wait!" - Said a female voice in the entrance of the temple
For Iori's surprise he sees a young woman of purple hair wearing a red bikini and carrying a sword alongside a shield with her.
"(You! She looks exactly like-)" - Thought Iori astonished noticing the resemblance of this woman with the Psychic Idol Asamiya
"Athena, what happened? Do you have a good reason to interrupt us?" - King Yam
"Sorry, King Yam, Mistress Death. But I have bad news to report." - Said Princess Athena to both
"Don't tell us is about that?" - King Yam
"Yes, the balance has been broken again." - Said Princess Athena
"Don't tell me, this woman decided to continue her killing spree." - Death
"Yes but now is much worse. The entrances to paradise and hell are becoming a mess. The archangels are having problems organizing them." - Princess Athena
"(What are they talking about? And who is this girl? Did she called her Athena?)" - Iori really didn't understood what was happening
"It can't be! It will take hundreds of years to be able to send this souls to were they should, some of them shouldn't be dead. Damn it, Kagura!" - Death
"(Kagura?)" - Iori opened his eyes in surprise after hearing that name.
Iori's question was answered when the image of Chizuru Kagura's Succubus form appeared in the crystal ball
"Kagura.." - Said Iori in a low tone as he saw Chizuru appear in the crystal ball
"I know you would recognize her, Iori." - Death
"Care to explain why suddenly Kagura is this important?" - Iori
"Really? And here I thought you being one of her minions would know what is happening." - Death
"What did you called me? Minion, I'm not the minion of anyone!" - Said Iori angry to be called Kagura's minion
"I think Orochi would disagree with that." - Death
"Grr..! Speak! What is Kagura doing? And why the sudden concerned face from both of you?!" - Iori
"Your friend Kagura has been killing tons of people and is breaking the balance of this and all planes of existence." - Said Death
"That woman isn't my friend! So, let me get this, you're telling me that Kagura's slumber parties are destroying this world too?" - Iori
"You managed to understand it, good. Kagura's thirst for power is getting out of hand. Soon she will become unstoppable, taking over the entire earth and when that happens she will obviously come here." - Death
"Really? Hehehe, you're trying to tell me Kagura represents a menace for this place. Can't you freaks, I don't know? Just kill her and solve the problem? Aren't you death incarnate?" - Iori
"Is not as easier as it sounds. I cannot intervene in mortal affairs, as my job is guide the souls of the deceased to their eternal rest not causing death. If we decided to break the rules the balance would be broken more faster, besides Killing a Succubus with alot of power like her is almost impossible. Sealing her would only gave us some years but would not stop her from returning in the future... Unless." - In that moment Death had an idea
"Alright, Yam, Athena. Give me some moments with Iori alone." - Said Death as both King Yam and Athena walked out of the place
"Are you sure about this?" - Asked Athena realizing what Death had in mind
"Should I remind you that your last descendant was turned into one of Kagura's minions too." - Said Death as Princess Athena just looked down
Athena and Yam leave Iori and Death alone
"So, tell me Iori. Who did you said was responsable for your death?" - Death
"Kusanagi and Asamiya..." - Iori
"You know there was someone else, the principal guilty of Kusanagi killing you!" - Death
"Kagura!" - Iori understood what Death was trying to say
"What are you trying to do?" - Iori
"Haven't you realize? Tell me, Iori. What would you said if I could give you a chance to return to the land of living?" - Said Death with a serious look to Iori
"..." - Iori didn't answer first
"You're lying!" - Iori
"No. I could easily give you another chance but you would have to do something for me." - Death
"..." - Iori
"Speak." - Iori
"I'll send you back to the land of the living, if you promise to bring me the soul of Chizuru Kagura!" - Death
"You mean, you want me to kill her!" - Iori
"You said killing her in her current state is virtually impossible! How I know I would be able to do that?" - Iori
"I'll tell you a secret, only a Incubus can kill a Succubus and vice versa. Why do you think Kyo Kusanagi and Athena Asamiya were able to kill a Incubus like you!" - Death
"You were unmatched the moment you decided to fight with both." - Death
"Similar to you, Kagura isn't a human anymore. She needs to be stopped at any cost before her power ends up consuming her soul, and if I have to break the rules just to avoid a horrible apocalypse, then so be it!" - Death
"So what do you said?" - Death
Iori stayed silent for some moments. On one hand, he didn't liked of the idea of killing the only woman who ever loved him for who he was but on the other hand. He was angry with her blaming her of what had happened to him. He also thought that this would be the only chance he would get to have a rematch with Kusanagi
"I'll do it." - Iori accepted the offer
"Good." - Death
"In that case I think you will be needing this too!" - Death throwed a strange gem to Iori
Iori looked at this gem, it was the Yasakani no Magatama. The sacred treasure of the Yagami clan
"I took it from you the moment I found your soul. We thought about giving it to your sister. But I think you will be needing it more." - Death
"Hmph!" - Iori just took the jewel
"I'll take that as a thank you." - Death
"Follow me!" - Said Death to Iori as both walked out of the temple to a small pit that was closed
"..." - Iori
Death removed the metal door that was closing the pit
"Considerate yourself lucky. I shouldn't be doing this but at this point I have run out of options." - Death
"Don't worry! I'll send you Kagura's soul. But also I hope you make space for two more souls who will be coming after her." - Said Iori as he fell in the pit
"(Good luck, Yagami.)" - Said Death as she know who were the other two souls Iori was talking about
Japan
Cementery
In one rainy night. A ray falls on top of the graveyard, in front of the tombs of two people whose second name is Yagami.
Everything looks calm as the rain continues but suddenly
"Grr..." - A voice is heared as a hand cames out of the earth
Suddenly two arms crawl out of the earth as if this person had come back from the death
A strange man of red hair, pale skin and purple eyes comes out of the ground as he looks at a puddle
"(Impossible! We are alive!)" - Said the voice inside the man's head as he looks detailed at his white pale skin
"Hehehe." - The man laughs realizing he has return to the realm of living
"Honey, I'm home! Hehehe... HAHAHAHAHA!" - Says Iori as he walks out of the greveyard thinking about Chizuru Kagura.
To Be Continued...
