Chapter 14
The Gatecrasher
Danzo and Gekko had managed to get the door when they felt a presence behind them. A new Youma emerged surrounded by silver feathers carrying an energy blade with three wings surrounding its body.
"This guy's mine," Danzo said to her.
Gekko stepped back and watched as the man she met began to battle the vicious creature. But soon another began to enter the fray making the odds seem mildly unfair for him. Danzo smirked arrogantly, knowing fully well that he could make his own odds. With several timed swings of his sword and the punching and kicking of the belial gauntlets and greaves, the two youma were soon vanquished. Gekko smiled admirably at him as he turned and walked off towards the doorway.
Things weren't going so smoothly for Team Hebijo. The youma were now forcing them on the defensive as they prepared to make what they considered their final stand. But then a new light emerged behind them and a metallic coffin emerged bearing the symbol of Gessen Academy. It suddenly opened to reveal a young girl who looked to be seventeen years of age emerge from it bearing a shotgun, and a shield. Her outfit consisted of a blue and black victorian style dress with a short navy blue cape behind her. Her eyes were blue, her hair was black with a hair clip bearing a blue ribbon and a gold pin upon it. Her black and blue shoes reached up to her knee with golden laces on it. Above her head was a halo that when touched would change her personality in a single second to a bloodthirsty gun slinger. Ryona and Ryobi turned behind them and saw that it was their older sister Ryoki.
"Looks like you guys could use some help from your big sister," she said to them.
Clicking her fingers from behind her shield, Ryoki catapulted at the youma and blasted them to pieces with her shotgun. Imu and Murasaki turned and looked at each other in confusion.
"Not what I had in mind, but I'll take it for now," Imu said to her teammates.
"Give 'em hell Ryoki!" called Ryobi as she raced after her friends with Ryona following them in reluctance.
"With pleasure!" she said to herself and continued her onslaught.
Asuka and the rest of team Hanzo had managed to dispatch the last of the youma when team Gessen arrived after driving them off.
"Have any of you seen Gekko?" Yumi asked.
"We haven't seen her," replied Ikaruga.
Yumi was afraid that she had been killed by youma and nearly broke down and wept. But Asuka gently place her hands on her shoulders.
"I know she's okay. Homura once told me that Miyabi's a tough nut to crack, so I know that Gekko's still alive, and taking out some youma," she assured her friend.
Yumi took a slow deep breath, and let it out slowly.
"Thank you Asuka. I'll take your word about what Homura said about some ninja are tough nuts to crack," she replied with a relieved smile.
They quickly parted ways as they raced about the corridors in search of Miyabi and Gekko.
Team Mikagura was having no trouble with the youma as Kagura carved her way through them with unrelenting determination. Renka smirked proudly as the last of the youma fell. Then they raced off with Hanabi and Kafuru sending another swarm crashing through another wall sending them flying down to the city streets below.
Team Crimson unleashed their attacks against any oncoming youma that got in their way. Homura was now growing more determined than ever to stop Akira before things started to get out of hand. Yomi catapulted forward with her broadsword, cutting into the youma with ferocious determination not even caring if she got her clothes dirty. Hikage began assassinating the youma that were about to strike at her friends slitting their throats and watching them collapse with harsh gurgling sounds. Mirai swatted them back with her gunbrella, then opened fire with a full volley. Haruka's puppets soon retaliated as she threw bottles of radiation, and poison at them from a safe distance. They raced off through the ever changing tower's corridors not even stopping once to see if their friendly rivals would be alright.
Senko and Fubuki had managed to dispatch the last of the Youma standing in their way, when they saw something in the distance. It was Danzo and Gekko fighting off some youma that had ambushed them. Soon the youma had been defeated as Danzo quickly raced off with Gekkou following close behind and spotted the remaining members of team Master nearby.
"Senko, over here!" called Gekko.
"Sister! You're alive!" Senko said happily rushing up to her sister and hugging her.
Fubuki smiled at him as Danzo started to head to the lift after placing the three gemstones into the center of the door way. It soon parted for him to enter.
"Thank you for saving Gekko," Fubuki said, taking Danzo's hand in her own.
"It was nothin' really. I saved her life, but then she had her first kiss with me," Danzo said shrugging his shoulders.
Senko was momentarily surprised.
"Don't tell me that she loves you," she said to him.
"Yeah, she does," admitted Danzo.
Senko was about to attack him when Gekko stopped her.
"Wait, we may have tried to finish what lord Kurokage started in the past, until Fubuki started to transform his version of Justice into Vengeance by having all every shinobi exterminated along with humanity," Gekko said.
"Yes Senko, if you kill him, you'll end up making the same mistakes grandfather made in the past and become a traitor to humanity," warned Fubuki.
"Justice and Vengeance are like two sides of a coin. Heads is Justice, Tails is Vengeance," Danzo added.
Senko hesitated, but then slowly relented.
"All right, I won't take away my sister's happiness away from her," she said after admitting defeat.
Danzo walked into the elevator and rode it upwards to the next floor.
Above on the roof of the Tower of Darkness Akira turned and began to recite an incantation that he discovered from the restricted section of Hebijo Academy's main library.
"He plucks the threads that make us dance, finger and toe! We surrender in joy to the lowest of the foul and rank; we submerge through darkness, rancid filth. Hour by hour, we move downward, ever closer to Hell, in a a slow, steady gait. Now, let the world resonate! Sloth! Gluttony! Greed! Envy Lust! Wrath! And Pride! A bell of chaos that tolls human desires! After two thousand long years the once sealed gate to the Youma World will open!" chanted Akira.
The bells of the Seven Deadly Sins began to toll loudly, and a portal above his head soon opened and a swarm of bird like youma descended from the sky surrounded him as they danced about.
"Destruction! Carnage and Despair! Let your instincts drive you! Entrap this world in fear! As the structure so fondly named the Tower of Darkness strikes terror into the heart of mankind. Then I will become the ultimate ruler of this wasteland engulfed with pandemonium! The great power that Sato once imprisoned, will be MINE!" Akira shouted, rising up in the pillar of light as his laughter echoed all around the slums.
The youma that had been trapped in their dimension began to pour down from the sky sending people running about as the toppled over vehicles and buildings that stood in their way. Some even managed to capture some women and brutally ravage them to death, while young children and their fathers fled. A group of soldiers arrived bearing firearms that would hopefully bring them down.
"Open fire!" shouted their commander.
They did so, but the bullets proved to be ineffective against them. Daidouji leapt from her perch and began pummelling them furiously hoping to keep them back. Ayame who had just gotten out of the shop saw the portal above and soon raced to the sight of a bloody conflict.
"Master Katsuragi!" she cried as she raced from rooftop to rooftop avoiding any Youma that were coming for her. Rin and Kiriya soon arrived and dispatched the youma that were about to attack her.
"Get going!" shouted Kiriya.
"Not until I find Katsuragi!" Ayame protested.
"This isn't a discussion, now get to safety!" Kiriya shouted again.
"I won't!" Ayame cried.
Rin stepped forward to her former teacher.
"Let Ayame follow her heart," she said.
Kiriya slowly relented.
"Very well, but be careful," he said.
Ayame nodded and raced off to the Tower of Darkness.
Inside the tower, Danzo looked around as it began to shudder sending small rock fragments down near him. His youma form flickered, as if it was warning him of an attack from some youma that had arrived to attack him.
"Now this is what I'm talking about!" he smirked, and gunned them all down.