Thank you to everyone who sent reviews, favorites, and follows. After an unintended wait, here is chapter two.
Disclaimer: I don't own Blue Exorcist or any ideas that sound like Night World or Charmed. All I own are my OCs.
The Exwires, Yukio, Shura, and a handful of exorcists were on a train heading to Nakagawa.
Bon was sitting with his friends and Rin, Kuro on his lap, only half listening to their conversation. He dozed off part-way through the beginning and had that dream again, if only with minor differences.
He kept thinking about what it could mean. Having the same dream twice could not be a coincidence.
'Man, what's wrong with my head?' He thought, staring out the window as the world went by.
"Bon…? Bon!" The temple heir was pulled out of his thoughts by Shima calling his name. "Dude, you okay?"
"You've been spacing out most of the trip," Rin commented.
"Sorry…" He muttered, a little embarrassed.
"Still thinking about that dream you had?" Miwa asked.
Bon didn't say anything. He just nodded slightly.
"What dream?" Rin asked.
After a short inner debate about whether or not to tell the half-demon, Suguro described the dream as best he could.
"Weird…" His classmate breathed when he was done.
"The strangest thing is that I remember all the details. I mean, when was the last time you had a dream so vivid that you remembered it the rest of the day?"
"I don't know about that," Shima countered. "You practically have a photographic memory, so I'm not surprised you still remember the dream."
"Maybe you just ate something weird before bed," Rin said. "I remember reading an article that said if you eat certain foods before bed, you have nightmares."
"Since when do you read articles?" Miwa blinked, surprised.
"Yukio had it. It sounded weird, so I read it."
"Why do I have the feeling you're not as dumb as we think you are?" Izumo popped into the conversation from the seat behind them, making the boys jump.
"Hey!" Rin cried indignantly, either at the comment or the sudden intrusion.
"Don't eavesdrop on people!" Suguro snapped at the girl.
"If it was supposed to be private, then don't talk so loud," She retorted. "And if you want another opinion, it could just be stress."
"Are you okay, Suguro?" Shiemi asked, having been seated next to Kamiki.
His expression softened slightly when he addressed the blond girl. "Yeah, I just had a strange dream."
"If you want, I can make you a special tea tonight with some herbs to help you sleep better." She offered.
"Thanks, Moriyama." He smiled softly at the gesture.
Before they could talk further, the train pulled into the station and announced their arrival.
"Alright, we're here!" Yukio told the Exwires.
Everyone quickly gathered their bags and departed the train.
The group walked outside the train station to a bus where an exorcist was waiting. Once everyone had boarded, they were on their way.
The local exorcist stood at the front of the bus to explain where they were headed. He was a middle-aged man with dark hair and eyes wearing the standard True Cross uniform.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Shichirou Matsushita," He introduced himself to the group. "First, we'll be heading to the inn where you'll be staying during your time here. Once you get settled in your rooms, we'll take you to the main branch, where you'll be given the details of the mission. We appreciate your support."
About five minutes after he was finished, the bus came to the inn. Large, traditional, and historical-looking. For the Kyoto trio, it reminded them of where they grew up in.
Just like back home, the hosts showed everyone to their rooms. Since the rooms were pretty large, they put people in groups of about six and by gender in each room.
So, Suguro was with his friends and the Okumura brothers.
"Wow, they really managed to get us all into the same room." Shima looked around, setting his bag down.
"This'll be fun!" Rin grinned, being his usual, excited self. "Like a guy's slumber party!"
"We're here for work, Rin, not a vacation." Yukio reminded his twin.
Bon rolled his eyes, barely hiding a yawn. Yukio and Miwa noticed but didn't say anything.
"We can unpack our bags later," The younger Okumura said. "Let's head to the bus."
"Right!" The boys nodded.
As they filed out, Yukio hung back until Suguro was the last one out.
When the others were gone, he stopped the Kyoto teen. "Hold up, Mr. Suguro."
Surprised, the person mentioned above stopped. "Is this about me missing class?"
"Partly," His teacher confirmed, a concerned expression coming to his face. "Are you okay to be doing this mission?"
"Yeah, I feel fine. Why?"
"From what I've been told, it's rare for you to get sick," The Doctor exorcist gave him a scrutinizing look. "I just want to make sure you're not overexerting yourself."
"I'm fine, sir." He assured his teacher.
Yukio didn't say anything at first, but then he sighed and relented. "All right. However, if I think you're pushing it, I'm sending you back here to rest."
"Yes, sir." Ryuji agreed.
(Later)
The group returned to the bus and soon arrived at their second destination. Like all branches of the True Cross Order, the main headquarters was inside a temple. This one was Buddhist; inside, many exorcists were busy compiling data and passing information.
"Our field office chief is over this way." Matsushita led them down a corridor to the right.
They were brought to a conference room where they would hold meetings. Inside, a woman was speaking with another exorcist. When she noticed the group, she finished her conversation with her colleague and greeted them.
She seemed to be about Shura's age, with long brown hair that reached her waist and crystal blue eyes. She was also wearing the exorcist uniform; the only sign of customization would be the knee-high leather boots that could be seen due to her short coat.
"Is this the group they sent from Tokyo?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Thank you, Matsushita. I will take it from here," She dismissed him before turning to the group. "Thank you for coming. My name is Ami Akiyama, and I'm the field office chief."
"Hey, Aki!" Shura greeted her with a grin. "Haven't seen you since Cram School!"
"Shura," Akiyama nodded a greeting. "I see you still refuse to wear a real shirt."
Yukio sputtered a laugh at the apparent jab while Shura turned pink and glared at the other woman. "And I see you're still an overly formal stick-in-the-mud."
"I'm going to ignore that," The chief said, a vein popping. "Anyway, the mission you've been called in to assist us with is a mysterious one. There has been a rash outbreak of missing people recently."
"Um, not to be rude, Ms. Akiyama, but this sounds like a job for the police to handle," Miwa spoke up, raising his hand.
"While I would agree with you…."
"Miwa."
"Miwa, what was found at the scene of the abductions is what brought us in. Follow me."
She led the visiting group into another room where bagged evidence was set on a table. Taking a closer look at what was there, the experienced exorcists of the group recognized some of the artifacts found.
"This looks like witchcraft paraphernalia." Mr. Tsubaki noted.
"That's what I was suspecting." Akiyama agreed.
"Witchcraft?" Kamiki asked, curious.
"On that note, why are we here?" Shima spoke up. "We haven't covered how to deal with witches."
"And you never were," Shura told him. "True Cross Academy cut that from the curriculum nearly two decades ago."
"It was pushed into an extracurricular class after being removed from the core material," Tsubaki elaborated. "In fact, my class was one of the last classes to cover the topic before it was phased out completely."
"Again, why are we here?" Kamiki asked.
"In all honesty, I was surprised when I heard that Sir Pheles was sending Exwires on this mission," Akiyama conceded. "Personally, I think he's up to something again. However, lives are on the line, so I can't afford to be suspicious."
Before she could go on, the exorcist from earlier burst into the room. "Chief!"
"What is it, Tachibana?"
"One of the missing turned up!"
"Dead or alive?"
"Alive, but she doesn't seem to remember anything about her ordeal."
"Missing time?"
"Seems so."
"Alright, let me speak to her."
"Yes, ma'am!"
She turned back to the group. "If I could ask a few of you to help organize the evidence to see if we missed anything, I would greatly appreciate it."
"Of course," Yukio said.
However, just as they were about to get to business, another exorcist entered. "Ma'am?"
"Yes, Yamazaki?" Akiyama turned to the newcomer.
"There seems to be a disturbance on the park's east end, the wooded section that's mostly overgrown."
"What kind of disturbance?"
"Unknown, but we're picking up high concentrations of energy."
Suspicious of the findings, Ami turned to her old classmate. "Kirigakure, would you lead a small group to check it out?"
"You bet." The flame-haired exorcist nodded before picking her group. "Yukio, Okumura, Suguro, I want you three to come with me."
"Right!" The boys agreed.
"Remember, we don't even have a vague idea about what you're facing. So be on guard at all times." Akiyama instructed them.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine!" Rin gave a confident smile.
Something about the way he said that actually made Ami smile slightly. "Good luck. I have faith in you."
As the four of them headed out, she shook her head, chuckling a little.
"Ma'am?" Yamazaki looked at her, questioning.
"Fujimoto, you raised a couple of good boys, and I don't care what anyone else says," She smiled fully before turning serious again. "Alright, let's get to work!"
(At the Park)
It wasn't hard for the group to get to their destination. The main branch was outside the park, so they just needed to hop the fence and head in the direction they were told to go.
"Okay, we're already on the east side of the park," Shura explained, taking charge. "So, we're in the vicinity of the reports."
"I don't see anything," Rin said, looking around.
"What are we even looking for?" Suguro asked.
"Not sure," Shura admitted. "But I guess we'll know when we see it."
After she said that, Kuro made a sound and hopped down from Rin's shoulder. Making another noise, the Cait Sith pointed a paw in the direction in front of them.
"What is it, Kuro?" Yukio asked him.
"He says there's something over there." Rin translated.
"Alright, follow my lead." Shura brought out her sword and motioned for the boys to follow her.
As the team made their way through the brush, they heard a commotion coming from ahead. The closer they got, the more it sounded like a fight was going on. They picked up their pace and soon came upon a clearing.
At first, they thought it was deserted until they saw what was making the noise. There was a teen with blond hair facing off with a bird-like demon. The human was breathing hard, which indicated that this fight had been going on for a while.
Shura motioned for the boys to get down. Whatever was going to happen, she didn't want them to get caught in the middle.
"End of the line, Chosen!" The demon cawed in a female-sounding voice. "You should have quit while you had the chance!"
When it swooped in for an attack, the brunette was able to roll out of the way. Popping up in a crouching position, he clenched his fingers like claws, and a metallic sphere appeared in his hand.
"What's that thing in his hand?" Rin whispered.
"It's bad! Really bad!" Kuro voiced, hiding behind his master.
With a hard throw, the teen launched the sphere at the demon. When it made contact, there was a loud 'pop,' like a giant firecracker going off, combined with a shriek as the devil seemed to spontaneously combust.
The exorcists stared in shock as ashes and feathers rained down in the clearing. This kid was obviously not an ordinary boy. No human could have been capable of that.
Speaking of, Daisuke stood where he was, breathing hard. What the exorcists didn't know was that he had fought two other bird demons before that one, and he was running on empty.
Sensing their presence, Daisuke steeled himself and turned in their direction. "I know you're there. Come out."
The exorcists nearly jumped a mile when he called them out. Since they were caught, Shura and Yukio stood up slowly, weapons ready. Rin and Suguro followed their example, Kuro taking a position in front of the half-demon.
Now that they were out of the bush and facing each other, Suguro could get a good look at this person. He looked about his age, sixteen, with a delinquent vibe and look. He wore casual clothes consisting of a brown and green layered shirt under a black fleece vest, blue jeans, and black combat boots, with headphones around his neck. His hair was brunette and spiky, and there was a scar on his left eye. His eyes were hazel with an intense stare that seemed to draw a person in.
Suguro stopped himself when he realized he was staring, suddenly feeling light-headed. 'What just happened?'
On the other side, Daisuke sized up his watchers. All four of them were strong. He could sense that as plain as day. He could also tell that at least one wasn't entirely human. Seeing the uniforms on the woman and the kid with glasses, Daisuke quickly deduced that they were exorcists and guessed that the other two were trainees.
"So, how is this going to play out?"
"What do you mean?" Shura asked, keeping calm.
"I know who you are and why you're here," Daisuke explained, remaining just as calm but tense. "I also know our kinds don't mix. So, are you going to let me go quietly, or do I have to fight my way out?"
"That depends; what was with the bird of Gehenna?"
"No idea. I was on my way to meet up with friends when three of them dive-bombed me. I led them to this old section of the park and got two of them before you showed up."
"Who the hell are you?" Rin asked, being serious for a rare moment.
Daisuke smirked, looking at the half-blood. "Just a humble young witch."
"You're a witch?" Shura's eyes widened a fraction, becoming tenser than before.
"Surprised?" The male witch asked confidently.
For a split second, Daisuke and Suguro's eyes met. As if starting a chain reaction, the air around them suddenly picked up like a powerful gust of wind, as if a tornado was forming around them.
Rin, Yukio, Shura, and Kuro were startled enough to flinch, but the force of the gale seemed to have the most significant impact on Ryuji and Daisuke. To them, it felt like they were hit in the gut, nearly being knocked over.
As quickly as it started, it stopped. The twins, Cait Sith, and Shura recovered and, for the most part, were fine. On the other hand, Suguro and Daisuke were sweating and gasping for breath, like they had just run a marathon.
While the rest of the group was gathering themselves, Ryuji and Daisuke stared at each other. They were both wearing the same expression, confused and frightened. Taking a half step back, Daisuke swiftly turned and fled from the exorcists, catching the others' attention.
"Hey, hold it!" Shura said, running in pursuit.
"Get back here!" Rin joined in, Kuro right beside him.
Before Yukio could chase after them, he turned around to see Suguro's current condition as well as he was starting to look pale. "Suguro, are you all right?"
"I…" Ryuji tried to answer, but his thoughts were getting more scrambled by the minute.
The moment he felt lightheaded, he realized he was about to have a fainting spell. The last thing he saw as the world started spinning to black was his teacher's worried face before passing out completely.
"Suguro!" Hearing Yukio's worried gasp caused Shura and Rin to stop and look back, not noticing Daisuke had done the same.
When they saw their fallen comrade, they raced back to help. The teen witch took the distraction as an opportunity to get away, but not without a slight hesitation.
"Suguro! Are you okay?!" Rin asked, crouching beside his friend/rival.
"What happened?!" Shura asked.
"I have no idea! He just passed out after that strange anomaly happened!" Yukio answered, thoroughly confused and concerned.
"What do we do?!" Rin asked.
"I'm gonna call Aki and get some backup out here!" Shura said, pulling out her phone.
"What do we do about the witch?" Rin asked, looking back in the direction he ran in.
"We'll deal with him later," Yukio decided, more concerned for Suguro. "Besides, I have a feeling that's not the last we've seen of him."
(Elsewhere)
In an apartment room in the city, Yamato jack-knifed awake in bed. He was confused about where he was at first but then realized he was back in his room.
"How did I get home?" He asked no one, trying to remember what had happened.
His bedroom door opened up, and Ayumi walked in. When she saw he was awake, she became surprised before rushing forward to hug him.
"Yamato, you're awake, thank goodness!" She cried, making sure not to knock him over.
"What do you mean?" Yamato asked, confused.
"You had a vision the other day, and you passed out," Ayumi explained, pulling away. "Take had to orb you home, and then we had to make up a story for your parents so they wouldn't take you to the hospital."
Noticing that he was still in his school uniform, he knew she was telling the truth. "Sorry about that."
"You had us scared. You never passed out after a vision before."
"It might have had something to do with the emotions I was feeling," Yamato theorized, groaning slightly as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "They were pretty intense."
Once he was moved, Ayumi asked the million-dollar question. "What did you see?"
Yamato hesitated a minute, not even sure what he saw himself. The best he could do was describe what he did know.
"The vision was short, and there were no words, but I learned this: Someone from Daisuke's past is going to make an appearance. And whoever they are, they're at the center of the coming storm."
At the same time this happened, Daisuke had made his way to the central part of the park. Once he was sure he had lost the exorcists, he just started walking. Half-dazed with swirling emotions, he came to an area with a bridge over a koi pond.
Standing on the bridge, he leaned on the rail with a heavy sigh.
"Naive," He muttered to himself. "Really naive."
And that is the end of chapter two. Sorry it took so long. Read, review, and stay tuned.
(R.I.P. Chadwick Boseman-legend. A man with so much talent who was gone too soon. Wakanda forever.)