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FICTION
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Chapter 27: Crisis and an Awkward Vampire
The moment I took my first step inside the entrance section of the Yokai Gakuen, I found myself hit by an unexpected wave of nostalgia at the sight of the familiar school's inner style and particular structure.
This place was burned in my memory as this was also one of my favorite series, loving absolutely the plot presented by the Manga.
Differently from Kuoh Academy, this place was built after the average Japanese school and was structured in a less-connected manner. Also, the simplicity and the modern touch of the buildings were a stark contrast with the antiquate but complex design adopted by the Western-inspired institute.
I blinked back to reality as I felt a familiar small and soft hand swiftly taking refuge in mine, Kunou looking quite awed by the sight herself, but at the same time she decided to be a little more reserved about her reaction and keep close to someone trustworthy.
Her fox ears were now in full display, maybe because she caught the scent of so many Yokais all around and, after almost a month living away with humans, I suppose she was getting overwhelmed by it all and wanting to let go of her restraints.
Koneko seemed to be doing fine, yet her eyes were still darting around to look for every single details of the visible rooms, possibly to… map things up? She did ask if she could give a look for any available map of the school, but sadly there was none in the supernatural section of the Internet and thus practical mapping was her way to deal with the new place.
While the youngest of the two Nekoshou continued with her quiet study, her older sibling decided to take this time to… ask questions to me. I had expected Kunou or Koneko to ask, but I was kind of embarrassed to realize that Kuroka wasn't knowing of this part of the world.
One thing led to another and I found myself explaining a little bit why this school existed.
"While Yasaka-san is the titular ruler of the Yokai in Kyoto, her control isn't as complete and basolute as it might sound in paper and at first look." I explained quietly. "While she is rightfully and legitimately leading the yokai as her people's ruler, the arrival of the Three Dark Lords in Japan caused some power struggle just few centuries ago."
Her cat ears perked. "Dark Lords? Like the one that appeared in Europe?"
Blinking, I found myself intrigued by that question itself, but decided to verify a little later.
Yeh're a Wizard, Harry!
Please don't.
"Not 'that' kind of Dark Lords," I corrected her before giving a proper response. "The Three Dark Lords were the leaders of that faction within the Yokai's world that drawn support mostly from Europe. They believed that isolation from mankind was the best solution to avoid conflicts with Humans, especially after having to deal with the bloody aftermath of their war against… Alucard." I concluded with a frown. Now I couldn't help but wonder if R+V's Alucard had some connection with Hellsing's monster since both shared… similar powers.
Her ears twitched again with some interest. "You mean the monster that attacked Tokyo last week?" I nodded at her, still sporting a somewhat surprised look at that guess, and she nodded at that connection. "But how did it exactly re-appear back so recently?" Her question was legitimate, I guess people had yet to learn about the truth behind the Never-Ending Hunger.
"They sealed it the first time around after a costly war that could be considered a World War of vampires with a sprinkle of other monsters," I blinked at her snort but still went forward with my words. "Then someone decided the world needed to die by flesh abomination and unleashed it on Tokyo, I don't think I need to explain what happened to it." She nodded to affirm this conviction, but the young woman had yet to have her curiosity satisfied.
"Is the one responsible for 'that' dead, right?" She sighed as I nodded.
"Super-dead." I confirmed, quite convinced of it myself.
Gyokuro was dead, and Kuyo and Hokuto had to have been hunted down and 'removed' by Issa if Kahlua and Akua were now under his custody.
Still I wonder how things were doing at the moment, being perfectly aware about two very unstable girls presumably in the same room as several overly-protective girls and the boy said girls loved the dearest.
Ain't that a powder-keg scarier than the Balkans in early 20th Century?
At least the 'War' has yet to erupt.
Papa Bismark want to know your location, Aono-san.
I had to bit down an amused snort at that.
'Papa Bismark', seriously?
Grandpa is taken by King Hassan. No need to shake 'that' boat.
Fair enough.
As I started to realize that we had yet to meet up with our supposed guide, someone that had been promised to have us directed to the proper room where the meeting was supposed to be held, I heard quick footsteps approaching and-
"I'M LAAAAAT-UGH!" The feminine voice came to a halt as she went crashing onto me. The force behind that run-up was strong enough to almost make me trip too, but I managed to hold up as she fell on her butt.
"Owie?" She looked up and I found myself staring at a familiar witch. Yukari Sendo had just reached 14 and she still looked quite a child with her child-like mannerism. The little Witch blinked once, twice and then her purple eyes glowed in recognition.
"Oh! You are Koitsu Sakakibara!" I almost flinched at her giddy, fangirly tone, remembering way too well that now my identity as a professional-
Wizard Badass-
'With an outstanding track of being present in some important situations.'
I sighed and nodded at the little witch.
...And that's how I started to regret having my mask and my simpler life.
Can't win them all. At least she isn't jumping at you.
I think that's because of the fact, she is part of Tsukune's Harem.
Not officially. She is still a minor.
Thank the Gods, there is a limit to the genre...
'At least you got some recognition, celebrity can be a double-edged knife and you could try to exploit it when it's the opportune time.'
Hardly usable. Fanatics aren't… the best bunch of people to be dealing with in a normal basis.
"That's my name, yes." I replied dryly, but also politely. "And you are?"
The young girl let out a 'eep' before standing up and bowing my way. "Apologies, I'm Yukari Sendo, Sakakibara-san. I will be your guide a-and-" She stood up and crossed her arms, pouting a little. "W-Why wasn't I told that you were the one I was escorting -desu!"
I let out a brief chuckle. "I can only guess that someone wanted to make it a surprise," I mused quietly back at her. "And I think they managed it pretty well from your reaction there."
She blushed, embarrassment mostly but I think there was also that whole 'Hero-worship' kind of cliché going strong within this girl. Seriously, I don't need fans and I really don't want to deal with a fan club… ever.
"Y-You are right!" Yukari admitted nervously, then she sported a small smile. "A-And I should be doing my job instead o-of losing time there. Apologies once more."
"You are forgiven, Yukari-chan!" Kunou replied and the little brunette found her eyes turning to the blonde by my side that was around her age. Her eyes widened and then she squealed, rushing towards the kitsune.
I think my little imouto was aware of the effect she was causing and thus was ready with her arms spread and waiting as she got pulled up and in an embrace. It was quite odd to see someone just a little taller than her pick her up and then hug her closely.
"You are so adorable~!" What is your name -desu?" The little witch asked to the kitsune.
"Kunou Sakakibara." Kunou's voice was muffled in that hug and the fellow girl sighed heavenly.
"You can call me Senpai if you want, Ku-chan!" The magical user offered but-
It was with those words that I felt some dreadful aura coming towards us. Staring coldly at this 'intruder' and 'usurper', Koneko Toujou was glaring daggers at the fellow young girl, golden eyes burning a new kind of anger to me unknown.
ゴ
ゴ
ゴ
ゴ
Quite interesting how the silver-haired girl had learned how to use the 'menacing' aura and I think from Kuroka's big smile that she was fairly happy herself at that discovery. But since we were supposed to be there for an important meeting, I decided to poke at the witch's shoulder.
Yukari blinked and turned to look at me with a frown.
"I don't wish to sound pushy but… we do need to get moving now before we turn up late." I finally pointed out.
Her eyes widened and she nodded, Kunou detached from the girl and we all started to follow the magic user around the school. She gave us a brief tour over some of the classrooms and the recent history of the school.
The institution was working only partially, most of the classes having been delayed until the effects of the 'Alucard situation' had been seriously dealt with, while also giving the chance for some of the older students to receive proper support from the teachers for their last exams.
"So the Bus Driver is also the Headmaster now?" Koneko asked out of curiosity. "Shouldn't doing both jobs be quite… troublesome?"
Yukari nodded at her legitimate question, an uneasy smile on her face.
"Nurari-san is actually Headmaster only by name, the job is currently being oversee by Ruby-san, she was something of a secretary to the former Headmaster."
I nodded at the truthful reply, knowing it myself that Ruby was the one that would tackle up the paperwork portion of the work while the Bus Driver intervened only if the situation required his… skills.
The walk was uneventful and soon we were standing in front of a dark-wood door.
Yukari knocked twice and waited for the muffled voice of an older girl which I could guess was Ruby to open the door.
Once she was inside, we followed closely, my eyes quickly scanning around the meeting room that was chosen for the occasion.
There was a large circular table which had several chairs around it. My eyes quickly noticed Tsukune and his harem, their stares directed at us four as we got inside the room.
Moka was the one that actually took a little to move away from, having seen just her changed appearance in the last chapter of Capu2.
Instead of her usual pink hair and inquisitive green orbs, she had now a similar appearance to her 'Inner' self. White hair, a symbol of strong vampires, and strong red eyes. She noticed my stare, her blood-like orbs shying away and I quickly moved away before I could give any wrong assumptions.
Kurumu was giving at us a blank expression as if trying to understand what kind of individuals we were and she hardly seemed different from her past appearances, while her 'closest' rival looked as calm as usual. Mizore's hair had just grown up a little more, not enough to be the same as her first appearance in the show, but still a little more than how I 'had left' her like. All in all, the passionate duo seemed to have changed the least compared to the rest of the cast.
In fact, Kokoa had… a completely different hairstyle. Instead of the two bushy ponytails, she had a small one, suggesting the fact she did have a haircut.
Wait what?
But before I could truly question this anomaly, I found myself staring at Issa and the two girls sitting near him by the ta-
ゴ
ゴ
ゴ
ゴ
Shit, that is sure a scary expression.
'This individual is rather strong. Do you know if we can truly trust him?'
Only if I am careful enough to not make foul comments or hurt his daughters.
Kahlua was smiling while she continued to look at her hands, her eyes looking in our direction only momentarily before deciding to not give us much of her attention and focus on… nothing in particular.
It was Akua that scared me a little more than the other two.
While Issa was the strongest and Kahlua was the most insanely powerful, the first child of the Shuzen Family was a masterful assassin and a keen strategist that perfectly knew how to fight in different situations.
Her Hougestsu Jigen-Tou only made her even worse to fight in a direct brawl, her capacity to turn intangible and use an attack that is impossible to block was quite the worst thing to face against with my current abilities.
She looked calm for the moment, her poker face quite perfected while her red eyes were carefully trained on us before settling on me. Her lips were developed in a thin line while her posture was mostly normal if not for the bare tension I could perceive from her at our presence.
We were a group of strangers, a very powerful group that was now in the same room as her sisters. A faux pas and we were going to have a dangerous enemy without even having the chance of getting some deal achieved.
Ruby nodded at us, standing on the farther corner of the table. She stood up and gave a quick nod our way. "My name is Ruby Tojo and I will be the one directing this meeting between the Shuzen Family, the Yokai Gakuen's representatives and the Omega Initiative-"
"W-Wait, Ruby-san. I thought we were supposed to meet with Grigori, not with-" Kurumu started to question but was then interrupted by the goth girl.
"The Omega Initiative is part of Grigori," The young woman pointed out with a small smile. "It's a recently-created sister-organization within Grigori." Her words were accepted by the succubus with a nod. "But I think it's best they introduce themselves rather I describe them by the reports Azazel-san sent to me." She indicated right at me.
I blinked and nodded, partly surprised by the advanced knowledge. Still I began introducing myself.
"My name is Hoitsu Sakakibara, I'm human an-"
"Psst- Yeah, right." The feminine voice interrupted me and I glanced at the origin of that comment, only to find myself staring at one Kokoa Shuzen. The youngest child of Issa looked skeptical about my claim and I frowned back at her.
"I am a human being." I said once more, pressing more onto the claim and her eyes returned this with a confused look and then-
"He is a human." Ruby agreed to my words and cutting short the brief exchange. "His energy pattern is a human one." The older witch presented as a proof and… what is going on?
Why would they think otherwise?
We still are human. We didn't change.
'And I can vouch that too myself.'
"But his scent is-" Moka glared at her and Kokoa shut down her little comeback because of it.
What was that?
It could be that our scent is masked by Kuroka's and Koneko's. It hasn't to do with anything wrong with us.
I nodded, conceding to that possibility and resumed with my presentation. "And I'm the leader of Omega Initiative."
I felt Kuroka latching once more at my arm and smile happily. "I'm Kuroka Toujou, a Nekoshou, and I'm Hoi-kun's second-in-command, nyah~." She squeezed her cleavage harder on my arm to emphasize her point, causing some blushes within Tsukune's group.
There are times I ask myself why bothering getting up from bed and deal with this shit.
Because deep down you find being set in this predicament rather amusing and somewhat refreshing once in a while.
I didn't need to hear that.
Are you sure about that?
Ye- Actually. I will not reply to that.
Mhh, is that so~?
I settled down with a long sigh but to the girl's widening smile.
Kunou huffed while glancing annoyed at the dark-haired neko. "I'm Kunou Sakakibara, I'm a Kitsune Yokai and I'm Niichan's surrogate imouto."
Some of the girls melted at the cute blonde's serious introduction, while Yukari smiled widely and nodded her way.
It was the turn of the younger cat-girl and Koneko looked quite… furious for some reason.
"I'm Koneko Toujou, a Nekoshou and Baka-nee shouldn't grope Hoitsu-nii."
Kuroka froze up and then let me go as she took a seat and looked incredibly depressed all so suddenly. "Shirone-tan called me a Baka."
Truly a saddening sight, but I 'managed to survive' through it.
The group surprisingly didn't react that much to the declaration, which I could only think was caused by the fact the harem had seen worse shenanigans that the one just unfolding now.
As we were now all sitting, Ruby once more took the lead and explained what was going on.
"Two days ago two groups attacked simultaneously both the Yokai Gakuen and the Shuzen Mansion, their intention was to capture Tsukune-san, Moka-san, Akua-san and Kahlua-san but they were stopped before being able to do so." The brunette started, then sighed and adopted a more grim appearance. "The reason why this should also a concern of Grigori, is because of the type of the allegiance this group has." She admitted with some certainty in her voice.
I knew that the culprits were Stray Exorcists, but still… that didn't make it 'Grigori's business' or at least it wasn't something that mattered to us in general. Many exorcists worked in Japan but not all of them were worth of Azazel's sending men to see what was going on there.
So why was this group in particular this important to even act against?
"The man that is leading the Stray groups is someone that was banished from the Church years ago, the reasons unknown from the official reports." She continued without hesitation.
"His name is Valper Galilei and we was once part of Grigori and-"
"Hold just a second, Ruby-san." I interrupted quickly, my mind exploding with info as I was given a 'big clue' over the situation given that the implications of the man responsible for the Holy Sword Project being responsible for those attacks weren't negligible. "I know that those attacks have been confirmed by Grigori, but I have to ask if you are 100% sure that this man is really responsible for those attacks." I pressed her, hoping that maybe this wasn't truly the case.
I hadn't thought that Kokabiel would have parted with the man so, knowing how important he is in the series and for his plan but… why now he sent him off?
It was- It didn't make any sense.
"I did a thorough check of the men I had disposed. Their main connection being this former member of the Church." Issa replied cooly, his eyes fixed on my face. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think your confusion is directed at the presence of the man, rather something else about the matter." He guessed rightfully.
I nodded. "Valper shouldn't have a reason to be hunting down vampires, his expertise being… the reconstruction of Excalibur by uniting the seven swords that are available to the world." I admitted quickly and without a doubt.
While the knowledge of someone trying to reform the blade was dangerous given so eagerly, I was also aware of a major detail. Nobody with a dark-energy core was going to be able to even come nearby one of the existing swords that once were part of the legendary weapon.
"Excalibur?" Tsukune asked a little surprised. "The sword of King Arthur?"
"The same, yes." I replied quickly and calmly. "The sword was one of the major Holy Swords that were created with the knowledge from the Territory of God, and it was born to become the strongest blade for Christianity." I paused a moment and then nodded. "Sadly, the original one was broken centuries ago and only seven blades bearing the same name exists nowadays, each having a small attribute from the greater sword."
"Valper desire to bring all of the Excaliburs together and have a powerful user for it to be held." I continued to explain.
"Now I find myself intrigued at this description and I wish to inquire if possible about this obsession being one of the causes that led to his banishment or not." Ruby asked out of curiosity and I blinked, feeling like that info wasn't going to be harming to Grigori if let out.
"Valper was responsible for the 'Holy Sword Project', an attempt to create the proper users of the various Excaliburs and possibly prepare the user of the real sword if breakthroughs regarding its rebuilt yielded positive results." I said with a little disgusted tone, pausing just a brief instant to contemplate how to properly word my following explanation. "The specimens were all children and the project was closed when the man allowed the elimination of those unfit for the task and proceeded to enforce energy transfusions of those that remained to a single candidate."
"Any survivors? Did they all die?" Moka asked, her tone frail and her pale skin even paler than before, Tsukune noticed and wrapped an arm around her to keep her close.
"Only a boy survived. He is currently well but… he got quite the hatred for Excalibur swords for good reasons." I replied and the girl sighed in minor relief while I shifted back to my explanation.
"Still I think it's odd Valper would seek out this four individuals, none of them having something that could work even remotely with this obsession-"
"Not with the sword… but I think there is something useful that Shinso Vampires are known for." Ruby interjected, smiling as she seemed to have got quite the good idea of the situation. "Shinso Vampires are known for many different abilities than normal ones don't have, but the one that is feared the most is their ability to absorb a human's or a monster's lifeforce, knowledge and energy. He is trying to recreate this process but within the user of Excalibur."
"And knowing how bad his obsession is, I would expect him to attack them until he manages to get them."
Everyone shared a grim nod at my affirmation.
Issa hummed and then nodded to himself. "The reason why I requested Azazel's help is also related to the situation about my daughters'… infamous reputations."
Oh?
Oh heck no!
"After what has happened in Tokyo…" The man's eyes closed in silence, few seconds passing as he dropped the metaphorical axe upon my back. I've been having trouble in keeping an eye on them while also dealing with the attempts to attack our family's name." His stare intensified just a little and I felt nervous of keeping eye-contact with him.
Seriously, this is Issa Shuzen. I could hardly keep up with him right now if he attacked me!
"That is why I decided it was for the best to have them recruited within your group. Your objective, the contract to join and the promising rewards are more than acceptable for us and… I will be grateful for the acceptance to this request of mine."
We could-
No, we are not recruiting those two.
I know that-
If you know stuff, then you should be the one saying no to him. We are talking about two insane women with dangerous powers.
"Sakakibara-sama." A feminine voice I was unfamiliar with spoke, my attention brought to Akua as the young woman was now standing up and looking fiercely at me. "While I know that my terrible past might be a deterrent, I beg you to at least take in my sister Kahlua." She bowed slightly. "While I can manage with my aggressors, I know my younger sister isn't ready to face our attackers and-"
She sighed, starting to unbutton her upper dress. "I-I will allow you to make use of my body."
…
I stood up and lifted my open palm up at her as a gesture to stop. "PLEASE STOP WITH THAT!"
Akua stopped, looking quite confused for a moment, just two buttons moved as I sighed loudly. "T-There is no need to do that…" She unbuttoned another one. "I mean it! Stop!"
Her hands moved away from her buttons and she looked incredibly… dumbfounded at my reaction. "A-Am I perhaps ugly?" The young woman stuttered nervously.
"What- No!" I replied quickly, then I sighed tiredly. "I was already thinking about taking you both in, what you were trying to do was incredibly i-indecent and-"
"But I noticed how Aono would be subjected to this kind of attention from the girls and I thought that this was the best way to get a man's acceptance to a proposal." She seemed rather innocent with her explanation and… I blinked.
…
…
Oh no, she is so clueless about the context of such action!
And while I tried to understand what was going on, Tsukune had his head forcefully planted on the surface of the table, trying to avoid the glances from the girls at remembering and the glare Issa was throwing at him.
The eldest daughter looked even more confused at this development while Kahlua glanced around with a smile and let out a giggle.
"This is funny." She muttered while relaxing on her chair, enjoying the chaos around her.
Few moments later, Akua managed to recover and nodded. "Still, I don't think it would be right for my new contractor to hire me without I proved to him my skills and… I wish to spar with you, Sakakibara-sama."
"...Eh?" I replied intelligently but the girl nodded again before she turned towards Ruby and asked. "Could it be possible to use a small place indoors to fight? I wish to avoid dealing with 'interruptions' from the outside."
The Witch blinked once before nodding slowly. "I-It could be done but-"
"Good." The female vampire returned to glance back at me, giving me a smile. "I hope you are as strong as you are considered, Sakakibara-sama. I don't wish to disappoint nor I wish to be disappointed neither."
There was some attempt of protest from the 'harem' but it was Issa that stood up and turned to look at his first child, eyes piercing as he glanced right on her red orbs. "Why do you wish to fight Sakakibara-san if he accepted you to the group, Akua?"
The ravenette blinked and then nodded, the ominous smile still there.
"He interests me."
AN
"You promised blood, you promised skulls! Ya traitor!"
Why there isn't a fight in this chapter? Today I wounded up with a mind-splitting headache and some fever.
To make you understand how big this is, I started to write at 6AM and finished now at 2PM. 8 Hours spent trying to focus on the chapter and giving a very poor length to it.
I am sorry it's short and lacks a fight, tomorrow morning I will have 6k ready for you all to enjoy.
But not today…
Now let us move to something about the content of the chapter. Akua's personality was difficult to capture in words as I had to re-read some of the chapters she was in, read bits from the Wikia and I ended up with some ideas about her overall personality: Akua Shuzen is brutal and cruel in a fight as this is how fights work in her psyche, yet when she is out of the battlefield and with her family her whole attitude change to one akin to a supportive older sibling to her sisters. Akua was born in poverty, her childhood was cut short by the death of her first and best friend and the lack of affection and love created a very awkward individual. Someone that understands the basic of love, but is very keen to go overboard with her caring to the point of becoming an obsession, one that easily can kill people between her and her object of affection.
The fight will have a dual function and hopefully I will nail the deeper part of it.
And after this?
Cheers!
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REVIEW Q&A!
Sgolek1: Not Saitama, would be fun but also completely crack-ish. Rias will have her redemption arc, but it will happen after Volume 3.
CrappyIdiots: I've no plans to include Fate characters on the basis that Magic exists and thus much of the Nasuverse wouldn't work well with it. I've plans to include some legendary characters in the roster and Gilgamesh is among them, just not the laughing blond douche from FSN.
Guest (Chapter 26): No X-over with that fanfic, but I do plan to bring the MC from a story available only in SB, SV and QQ.
Jalalfof5: It's a super-strongly neutral 'Maybe'. I dunno how far the X-Overing could go there.