Opening Song: "Wait and Bleed" by: Slipknot
"He's sitting on the edge of unmidigation. Fill that syringe full of holy water and give it to him." An unfamiliar voice states.
My stomach feels like it's trying to bubble up as my consciousness slowly comes back. The bite of a needle digs through my left arm, and a sharp pain travels to my heart and crawls through my entire body. It feels like someone is giving me a shot to purge the corruption from my body.
My body locks up, and the ability to breathe gets harder. The veins in my lungs close and force me to cough. Black chunks of solidified corruption scrape the lining within my throat and causes an irritation that only adds to the aggravation. Blood, corruption and a purple tinted fluid spills out from my mouth and splashes on the wooden floor. Pieces of black skid through the puddle I just spit out and rolls in front of someone standing watch over me.
"Boy. The money the North would pay for you two." A voice chuckles as the man picks up a chunk and examines its quality.
"Even if you did, who's to say they would let you go?" I reply as my body restores itself.
"Of course, those bastards wouldn't let me go. I'm worth almost as much as you are." Hades states as he crushes the stone and tosses the dust in the fireplace behind him. The flames succumb to the darkness and explode with a dull purple color as they launch upward and throw off a massive wave of heat.
It appears we are in an abandoned house somewhere in the wasteland. All the windows are cracked, but still intact. Outside, heavy gusts of white swirls around in the wind, but the whiteout has died down a lot. The house is somewhat settled in one corner and is letting puffs of snow through the cracks.
Yuyaki is laying behind him me on a separate bed roll. Some guy is treating her frostbite with some warm water and trimming the dead skin off. Judging by the wounds on her stomach, it's nothing too serious since it's just small patches of dead tissue on the top layer of skin.
Hades reaches into his pocket, pulls out the pills Gehrman gave me earlier and holds one out. There's no way he's serious. Almost a year ago, the bastard was trying to kill me and Asuka. Now he's trying to help me?
"Who are you, and what have you done with the real Hades?"
"I'm right here." Hades replies as he eases closer and closer.
"Why are you helping?"
"Because there is no glory in killing someone in your state. If anyone is going to kill you, it's going to be me, but only if you are at full strength." Hades states as he puts the pills in my hand.
"Well aren't you a noble one." I state.
"I know right?"
I examine the pill and make sure it's the ones Gehrman gave me. Yup. It's the ones he gave me. The reason I know is because it had a certain smell to it. I pop the pill in my mouth and swallow. The stranger that was attending to Yuyaki finishes bandaging her up and sits down.
"My friend here is the one that found you two. I was helping him get back to the North, and he happened to come across your horse frantically running around, pounding at the ground and neighing loudly." Hades states as he hands the man a cup of instant coffee.
"Ah, can't forget the most important ingredient! You'll need more than coffee to warm yourself up in these conditions!" Hades adds as he grabs a bottle of whiskey and pours a healthy portion into the man's cup.
Deep down, my yoma senses are telling me this man is a half blood. From the physical perspective, he's about the same size and has a distinct pair of red irises shaped like mine. Which is probably why he had the compassion to help rather than kill us.
Hades sits down in a chair and polishes his armor with a rag dipped in yoma extract. He drags it over some of the injuries, and the orange fluid seeps into the wounds and restores the metal to its original state.
Yuyaki's eyes burst open and she's gasping for air. Her entire face is covered in sweat and she is trying to figure out where she is. Yuyaki's eyes fixate on the guy sitting in front of her. She immediately pats her waist and holsters for her weapons, but she doesn't have them on her.
The man scoots back and puts his hands up in a pacifist manner as she reaches down and pulls out a bronze spike from her boot. I reach over and try to calm her, but she yanks away and scoots up against the wall. The terrified look in Yuyaki's face and her feelings of uncertainty on whether she's dead or not forces her to curl up in the corner.
"Take it easy. You aren't dead. Yet." Hades says.
Yuyaki is still in disbelief as she keeps the weapon pointed at him before turning her focus back on the other guy. I slowly move towards her while keeping my hands up. She points the spike at me and keeps trying to back up. I reach out and gently touch the spike.
The fiery pierce of holy seeps through my gauntlets and causes the tips of my fingers to go numb. The words, "Quod damnatio aeterna (Eternal Damnation)" are carved into the side, and silver fills the crevice of each letter. My hand begins to smoke, but I push the spike away and urge Yuyaki to relax.
She lets out a sigh of relief and puts the spike back in her boot. Hades grabs some of the yoma extract and hands it to me. I pull my gauntlet off and lather my hand up. The gel seeps into my fingers and alleviates the pain caused by that holy spike of Yuyaki's. I hand the gel back to Hades, and he stows it in his side satchel.
"So, what are you two doing so far out here?" The man asks as he takes a sip of coffee.
"Same thing everyone else does in the wasteland. Running and surviving. How about you?" I reply.
"Trying to reunite with my clan."
"I see. So, I'm guessing you were on a mission, and you're trying to get back before your enemies catch up?" Yuyaki asks.
"Yes. I was on a mission. Now it's all about getting back to them. I ran into Mr. Hades a couple days ago, and he offered to travel and show me a safe way back. How about you two?" Akinari asks as he runs his hand through his slick, black hair and tosses it around to make sure it's dry.
"Deserters. Our group was tasked with hunting down a yoma around these parts. We're the only survivors, and we can't go back because we have nothing left to go back to." Yuyaki says off the top of her head.
"Speaking of which, is your friend a half blood?" The man asks as he points at me.
"Yes. I was artificially created." I halfway lie.
"He's the only reason we stood a chance." Yuyaki continues on as we spin our fake story.
"I'm a half blood myself. I achieved the highest rank possible as a shinobi and was rewarded with a bleeding soul that made me what you are. Name's Akinari by the way." The man says as he reaches out.
"Maximus." I reply as I shake his hand.
"Shingane." Yuyaki states as she shakes his hand.
The man named Akinari grabs a pot of boiling water, mixes a tablespoon of instant coffee and a generous shot of whiskey together in a mug before handing them to us. I don't have to worry about it being contaminated with anything since I saw Akinari and Hades drawing the water, whiskey and coffee grounds from the same containers.
I take my cup and give it a quick sniff just to make sure there's nothing inside. Yuyaki hands hers over. I symbolize that it's safe to drink. The fake, bitter taste of coffee isolates itself from the overpowering sear of whiskey as it scalds the back of my throat.
My stomach heats up and chases off the cold that's been constantly chipping at my body. Deep down, I regret doing this because of the promise I made Asuka and her family, but in this situation, I will take anything to try and get warm.
Yuyaki takes a small sip and swallows. Her throat clenches, and she covers her mouth with her arm. She pounds her chest to get the trapped alcohol out of her lungs before taking another swig.
Akinari finishes his coffee and sits the cup down beside his chair. "So if I just follow the trail you made, I'll reach the North by morning?"
"That's correct. I killed all the highwaymen and yoma down that path here recently, so it should be clear." Hades replies.
Akinari checks to make sure he has everything and then shakes Hades' hand, "Thanks for the help."
"You're welcome."
Akinari shakes my hand and Yuyaki's, "Maximus, Shingane, it was an honor to meet you. I hope we meet again real soon."
"Have a safe trip." Yuyaki and I reply.
He opens the front door and disappears into the white wind. I don't know who that was, but the fact he comes from the North and was fairly knowledgeable on how things work out here in the wasteland is kind of shocking.
Never giving your real name to strangers, where you are from, and why you are truly out here. If anything, you tell them where you are going, and a fake name to give the impression you're being friendly. Most people from the North don't have that kind of wisdom since most of their jobs happen within the city walls.
Hades finishes his cup of coffee and disappears into another room. I reckon he's either going to sleep, or he is going to wait until we fall asleep before axing us both. If that's the case, then I'll stay up all night. Hades is a crafty bastard, and I don't buy his bullshit story about not kicking me while I'm down.
Yuyaki must have the same idea as me because she reaches back into her boot and pulls out that spike. I reckon she's survived the wasteland long enough to know that sleeping with a weapon in your hand and under your pillow is a requirement. She slips the spike into her sleeve and completely conceals it.
I work myself up into a sitting position and lean against the wall. Yuyaki takes the flaps of the cloth wrapped around her stomach and folds them up underneath the bandages. I pull out my lever action pistol and open the tube up while Yuyaki grabs her sawed off shotguns from a nearby shelf. She's also got a pair of nodachis that have been completely drenched in yoma blood. On the very tip of the obsidian handles are the marking of a shinobi clan. The Touno Tengu.
At one time, the Touno Tengu were the smallest, yet most elite clans in the country. They lived up in mountain ranges and were rarely seen by the public. Unlike many shinobi clans where might means right, the Touno Tengu believed that wisdom and mediation was the key to being successful, and strength was used more as a tool for protecting your core beliefs rather than enforcing it on others.
"So, you're from the Touno Tengo clan?" I ask as I try to strike up a conversation.
Yuyaki looks at me with a strange look as if I actually know where she came from. "Yes."
"I saw the marking on your sword and I was just curious. I heard the stories about them and how one of their teachers was so skilled, he could split a hellshot bullet out of midair."
"Yeah, that was Master Katsumoto. I didn't think it was possible since hellshot travels four times faster than a regular bullet. Anyone can cut regular bullets out of the air, but hellshot rounds are a different story."
"Dodging hellshot is difficult enough. Cutting it out of the air? That's a man to be feared." I state as I roll a black casing around in my hand. I've gotten pretty good at dodging it but never have attempted to cut it out of the air. Probably because if I did, I'd get my ass shot.
"So, what was life like up there?"
"Well, I was born from two shinobi, but a lot of my friends, including master Katsumoto were born from a shinobi and a hunter. We even had people that had yoma parents."
"Really?"
"Yeah. My friend Tatsukichi had a yoma father, and a hunter mother. Now granted, we killed the yoma that tried to kill us, but most of the yoma that showed up were seeking tranquility and purpose. Rather than doing what yoma normally do, kill and destroy."
"Lawrence has a little guardian named Shiyro and she's full yoma." I say.
"I know Shiyro because Lawrence is my best friend. Where I'm from, we had full blood yoma children from full blood yoma parents. There were even thirds, halves and quarters from humans and yoma."
Yuyaki pulls out an old picture from her side satchel and hands it to me. A picture of her, and I am assuming Master Katsumoto and everyone else from their village are all bunched together in front of some kind of shrine. Judging by the structure, it was built by hunters, shinobi and the yoma because of the differences in design in specific areas.
Yuyaki points to each person and tells me their name and what they did. I'm noticing a pattern however. The shinobi were in charge of teaching discipline and self-respect, the hunters taught how to rightfully determine when to fight and who to fight, while the yoma focused on mediation, self-healing and dependence on the family.
"Because of the differences in ideologies, everyone trained in each field. The shinobi taught us stealth and how to use traditional swords and spears. Hunters trained us how to use firearms and modified elemental weapons for head on battles, while the yoma taught us alchemy and how to manipulate magic without the use of spell cards. When it came to harvest, the hunters built this stone structure that helped us determine when to plant crops and harvest them through reading patterns of the moon, sun and constellations."
"Sounds like a great place to live." I say as I continue to study the photo and commit them to memory.
The look on Yuyaki's face is mixed with joy and melancholy as she sits back and reminisces about the life she once had with these people, "Well enough about me, how about you Alan?" Yuyaki asks as I hand her the photo back.
"As you know, I am a hunter, but I've been posing as a shinobi so I can help get rid of the hunters that need to go, and protect those that don't. One of my guardians and I went and enlisted to help the shinobi take back the Bolakna from the hunters who've been terrorizing the area."
The moment that statement leaves my mouth, Yuyaki notices my Kopis sword and the etchings of the Lacedaemon and Greek all over the blade. "Wait, are you the one they call the Spartan?"
"Yup. That's me."
"Ah… I've heard so much about you! You're also the one they call Kagura's Scythe as well! Hikage speaks very highly of you! She told me how you and a bunch of others lived in a mansion at one time!" Yuyaki states.
"It was more like a big house but yeah, we all became family more than friends. Me, Lawrence, Roger, Ryoki, Hikage, Haruka, Thomas, Shiyro, Lawrence's mother, Minori and Minori's parents."
"There's no need to seem humble! With as many people living under one roof, the house would have had to have been a mansion!"
"Yeah, you're right. It was." I chuckle. "It was a three-story mansion with an attic, and a basement. The basement had this center fire piece where we all would gather around at the end of every night and drink, play card games and just spend time around one another."
When we first got the place, the house wasn't in the greatest condition which is why it was so cheap. At the time, Roger and Jonathan seized all my money as well as Lawrence's to force us to comply with hunting down our old friends. Which neither of us had a problem with because the bastards betrayed us, ran off with all the money and left us to die.
Which the money Lawrence and I accumulated for the house, property and renovation was paid for by selling yoma bones and remains to inside good shinobi for profit. On top of borrowing generous grants from illicit businesses, helping the local law enforcement with the gangs terrorizing the town, and charitable donations from rivals dumb enough to mess with us.
Those were good times. I still remember the only thing we really had to worry about back then was the yoma. The shinobi didn't pose much of a threat, and the hunters back then were more of an annoyance.
Yumi, Murakumo, the Gessen girls and Octavian would come by almost every weekend to visit. Because the house had several guest houses and bedrooms, everyone had a place to themselves.
"So, did everyone have specific jobs?" Yuyaki asks.
"Yeah. Everyone had to earn their keep. Haruka, Roger and I were in charge of shopping for food, cooking dinner and keeping the bills paid while Minori and her parents cooked breakfast and lunch. Lawrence and Thomas worked on house upkeep while everyone else cleaned and did yard work."
"Sounds a lot like where I was from." Yuyaki smiles.
"Yeah. Those were good times. Looking back at it, Roger, Haruka and them were the best damn thing that ever happened to me. If it weren't for those people, I wouldn't be here. Nor would I have what I do now. Sometimes, I wish I could go back."
"Master Katsumoto told me that everything happens for a reason. For the longest time, I didn't understand, nor did I want to, but as time passed, it began to make sense. I believe that regardless of how hard things get, or how much it hurts, it all works out for what's best and provides us with the ability to see our lives clearly." Yuyaki states.
"If that isn't true, then I don't know what is." I reply as I try and think of a way to get back home.
Right now, M and Gehrman think I'm at Colacus. The worst comes to mind as I think of how M said she was going to kill all the shinobi if I abandoned her. Which M said she would start with Asuka. God, I hope she's okay.
The thought of me killing her suddenly takes ahold of my mind and it locks up. No matter how I try to force it out, it won't go. I grab my head with both hands and shrivel up as I try to rub some relief into my mind.
"Is something wrong Alan?" Yuyaki asks.
"Oh no. It's just the pill Hades gave me earlier. It tends to give me a throbbing headache." I causally say as I try to avoid the real question.
Yuyaki doesn't seemed fooled however. Her eyes shifts directly towards my chest. The gaze Yuyaki is giving me looks as if she is staring directly into my soul. The sensation I am getting is a troubled one because she knows I'm lying, but I'm not budging or taking back my statement unless she calls me out on it.
"Your kai seems off balance. More black than equal. As if you are truly worried about something. Or someone."
Son of a bitch. I hate it when someone calls me out and then wants me to explain. Hikage used to do the same exact thing. If there's one thing I can actually do right is lie. Hikage was the only one I couldn't lie to because she always had that blank stare when I was telling a lie, and it annoyed the hell out of me.
She knew it did, and eventually, it would drive me to the verge of insanity that I had to tell her I was lying. Which the only time Hikage ever smiled or laughed, other than when I made a fool of myself was when I'd tell a stupid lie. Like "Oh, I'm not staring at your breasts, I was just looking at your tattoo above them", or "I wasn't looking at your E sized bra, I just like the color of your clothing."
"I won't push any further than you are willing to go, but I can see it in your eyes. In your soul. You feel guilt deep within your heart. My prayer is that you will find peace tonight, and that your troubled thoughts shall be removed."
"Thank you for your consideration." I reply as I lay down and try to forget what happened in that dungeon.
Yuyaki crosses her legs and places her hands together as if she is about to meditate. She takes a deep breath and exhales through her nose before citing her prayers.
"Ad deos qui volens audire, ut non audiat preces meae, uam superbus humilem. Da imperium tueri possis infirma dulcem protege. Ne ira mea, non fecissent et patientia sit infinta. Pacem pati ut ad amicos et familiam meam corrumpere in hoc mundo (To any gods that are willing to listen, please hear my prayers as humble rather than arrogant. May you grant me the strength to watch over the weak with a ready sword. Let my anger be insufficient, and my patience unending. Allow peace to come to my friends and family in this corrupt world)."
Yuyaki remains sitting with her eyes closed as she takes another deep breath and exhales, "Sit corporis vinculis obstrictum esse reserare (May the shackles that bind me unlock)."
Yuyaki lays down on her mat and covers herself up. I roll over and watch the purple laced orange blades of fire slice into the brick chimney of the house. Hopefully by tomorrow, the storm will be completely gone, and I can head to where I am supposed to…
Meanwhile outside of Colacus…
"What do you mean he's not here!? He said he was going to be here!" Asuka yells out of emotional frustration at M as she blandly picks up a broken tree branch and examines it. Maria, Gehrman, Astoreth, Daigon and a couple of the Hanzo girls search around a green pool of boiling spring water, searching for any signs of Alan.
"It's exactly what I said, Alan isn't here." M replies as she continues her investigation.
They are all currently atop of a mountain that overlooks Colacus. An ideal spot to hide since it's remote and can only be accessed by horse or foot. The only evidence of any presence is a conglomerated yoma that's been slain and eaten down to nothing but bones. However, Maria knows that it wasn't Alan because the saliva left behind wasn't from a hunter or shinobi of any kind.
Hibari studies the remains of the yoma and thumbs through an old hunter's book while everyone else fans out and searches within a certain radius. Astoreth and Daigon are watching over Hibari and Yagyu while Maria and Gehrman keep overwatch. Asuka got the unfortunate luck of having to stay close to M.
"Hey! I found something!" Yagyu yells.
She bends over a set of foot prints that have been lightly snowed in while pointing to a package of chewed bubble gum. She would have picked it up and took it back, but there was the possibility that it might interfere with M's ability to smell and detect who's it is.
Gehrman and Maria study the footprints while M picks up the gum. The sclera of both of her eyes turn a mixture of both blue and black as she focuses and lets the scent fill her nose.
M investigates both set of footprints, and determines that the smaller set belong to the perpetrator. The other set has light scratches around the outsides of the sole. That person was wearing a long dress that was gently dragging across the snow.
"My precious hunter, Factum est illi (is it her)?" Maria asks.
"Ita (Yes)." M replies.
"Memento ben venator, quae iunior est quam vobis (Remember good hunter, she's younger than you)." Gehrman states.
"I just want to talk Gehrman." M replies as she clinches her fists and takes off in the direction the foot prints lead…
Ending Song: "Heaven and Hell" by: Dio