Tale 8: Negative Freezing
Off to the east was the destination for Kokoro, Mao, Seiryuu, Byakko, and Kaira. A chill morning was starting to rise into the east. Like the others, it was up to them to stop Tamamo no Mae from claiming control of one of the Ruka twins, possibly causing a great, deadly calamity.
On the way to the far east, the cold winds made Byakko recall a time from a time long ago…To bring his mind to a peaceful set in these harsh times...
It was a dark, cold windy night on the mountain range Byakko called home. A harsh blizzard was blowing through the mountain's range, blanketing it with snow and ice.
While the white tiger was one who never really got company visiting him, he could feel a specific yoki aura among the harsh peltings of snow and ice. It was a strange presence, since it felt very much like his own.
Searching through the thick blankets of snow, he found a young yokai with crimson red hair completely out cold, alongside a similar looking one with black hair. From reading their yoki, it was clear to Byakko the two were still alive, just passed out.
"Poor things…" Byakko muttered to himself, lowering his head to get a closer look. He looked around a bit worried before giving a deep sigh.
"I suppose since I'm the only one around, I must…" Byakko finished, managing to fling the twins onto his back and trudge through the blizzard into the deep cave network he called home.
It wasn't exactly a lavish settlement, but Byakko managed to huddle the two into blankets he had kept around and start a small fire. After a short while, the two began to wake up.
"Mmmnnnghh…" The black haired of the twin yokai mumbled, gently rubbing his eyes.
"...What time is it…" The red headed twin asked as he stretched. Byakko approached the two, slightly startling them.
"I'm unsure about the time, but it was good timing I found you two," Byakko remarked, giving a smile with his cunning feline face. "You two would have surely gotten far too cold and perish in this weather."
"To be fair, I'm not too affected by chillier weather," The black haired twin stated. "It's my brother who's weaker to the cold."
"S-Shut up!" The red haired twin snapped back, wrapping himself tighter in the blanket he was given.
"By the way, what are your names and what brings you over to my domain?" Byakko asked the two curiously.
"I'm Noruka, and this is my baby twin brother Soruka," The red haired twin, Noruka, introduced for the white tiger.
"You realize I'm only younger by fifteen minutes, right?" Soruka responded, before getting things back on track. "Anyways, we've been traveling all around to learn skills from the Four Divine Beast Rulers across the land."
"Yeah, we've met up with Great Bird Queen of the South Suzaku, Great Dragon King of the East Seiryuu, Great Tortoise Queen of the North Genbu! They taught us a lot about fighting and being strong!" Noruka added cheerfully.
"We got lost on our way to finding Great Tiger King of the West Byakko," Soruka sighed, looking a bit miffed. "As you could probably tell…"
"I see, why is it you seek strength, then?" Byakko asked, having not revealed his identity to the two.
"Simple, we're training to inherit so we have to make sure we're the strongest among all yokai and even humans!" Noruka stated firmly. Soruka simply nodded.
"So you're seeking aid from the other beasts?" Byakko responded. "Funny you say that, since I quite know the Byakko fellow pretty well."
"Really?" Soruka asked. Byakko simply responded with a nod.
"We go pretty far back, in fact you've been speaking with him this entire time!" Byakko revealed, shocking the two. He then quickly transformed into his more humanoid form. "Now try to rest up you two, I'll teach you the ways of being swift like the winter wind and striking so quietly the blanket of snow is kept in tact."
"That's great, can we do it now, please?" Noruka asked, Byakko folding his arms a bit.
"As I said, you two need to rest up some more. Can't let pupils of mine be in less than perfect condition," Byakko finished, slipping into the shadows to a more private quarters in the cave complex he resided in. He gave a heavy sigh, feeling uneasy.
"...I can't tell them the truth of who I am, can I?" Byakko questioned himself, looking at a small reflection of himself in the water. The two had some of his facial markings and feline features from eyes, to twitchy ears, to claws, he could see his mark in them both. He swiftly splashed his tail into the puddle, distorting his image with the splash.
"I can't, I really can't," Byakko shook his head in doubt. "They won't see me the same, especially with how I've been gone most of their lives…"
But those thoughts couldn't linger forever, he needed to rest himself so he and the two can train. Hopefully the truth will be buried like the rocks underneath the thick blankets of snow on the mountainside…
"...Byakko?" The soft, gentle voice of Mao asked the tiger yokai, waving his hand in front of his face. "Are you okay? We're here now."
"Hmm...oh, what?! Already?" Byakko snapped back into reality.
"Yeah you were kinda dissacotating there," Kokoro remarked, having already gotten off the back of Seiryuu and was standing alongside Kaira, who looked fairly miffed at the tiger's lack of focus.
"Dunno why a powerful yokai from long ago would be sealed at a theme park, but the more you learn I suppose," Kaira commented, the surroundings becoming quite clear.
It was one of the top amusement parks in all of Japan, Myoko Ansleyland Ocean. A park that celebrated all the seven seas and their cultures and styles in a lovely park that was a must go tourist destination for domestic and foreign travelers.
"Myoko, wasn't that where Mai used to be from 'till she moved to Sakura New Town?" Kokoro pondered aloud, before shaking her head. She saw something in the horizons that was quite suspicious looking.
Floating above the large, ocean like lagoon the seven elaborate park sections surrounded was a floating island with a small abode and several large glaciers surrounding it.
"I don't believe that's normal…" Seiryuu commented at the sight. "Though, this is a spectacle marvel to behold, so maybe it is?"
"I doubt it, lizard brain," Byakko butted in. "There's a clear scent that's pretty powerful and I know quite well."
"Keep calling me names and I'll leave you down here as we investigate," Seiryuu glared back.
"A-Anyways I think I see something going up there…" Mao remarked, squinting his eyes to get a closer look at a strange shadow approaching the floating structure. "So I think it's best we hurry and not get…"
Too little, too late, Kokoro, Kaira, and Byakko were already looking at several stands of cute and collectible merchandise. The blacked haired child looked at the less than amused dragon.
"You may not be contracted to me but I'll take your word," Seiryuu concluded, having Mao get on as the large dragon managed to grab each of the distracted party, Kokoro and Kaira being put on his back alongside Mao and Byakko being coiled in his tail.
"Wh-" Kaira stammered in shock.
"What-Ack!" Kokoro added in.
"How dare you!" Byakko yelped, struggling in the tail grip of Seiryuu.
"S-Sorry…" Mao apologized, already feeling quite embarrassed.
"Ah geez don't worry dude, I'm really drawn to cute stuff so any mention of danger ended up getting forgotten," Kokoro reassured the other with a smile. "But now I'm focused and we're gonna do the thing!"
Without any further comment the two arrived onto the glacier covered island, the air going from slightly chilly to absolutely freezing.
"Tsk...I wish I had brought a jacket…" Kaira muttered, keeping his hands in his sleeves as he shivered a bit.
"There's only one building to investigate here, so let's go there yeah?" Mao pointed in the direction of the small abode, starting to walk into that direction. Kokoro and Kaira soon followed suit, starting the investigation.
To their shock, the door was flung right open, seeming to have been forcibly opened by a deadly and powerful force. There was no use in sitting around, so the three teens all charged right inside.
The interior was...shockingly homey for something that contained an ancient evil. There was a very nice living and kitchen area, neatly kept in place and was absolutely high end to the brim. But most importantly, there was a bedroom who's door had been forcibly opened as well…
"Oh no…" Kokoro realized, running to the bedroom door, the other two following her shock.
"Now...to finally break the final seal…" A familiar, sinister voice spoke to herself, an evil grin on her fox like face. What was supposedly sealed looked like a black haired yokai child with lilac skin and golden highlights.
"We've finally found you!" Kaira shouted, drawing his sword.
"Now you better stop before we beat you senseless, Tamamo no Mae!" Kokoro added into the shouting fest with one of her hands tightly gripping onto the azure emblem.
"Oh you foolish children, seems half of you have found me," Tamamo no Mae remarked, folding her arms. "Why must you always ruin my completely reasonable plans?"
"Reasonable!? You're trying to destroy everyone and everything!" Mao attempted to reason, though he wasn't very good at having an aggressive tone like the others.
"You're really dense and annoying, don't you know that?" Tamamo no Mae sneered, snapping her fingers as she transformed into a large peafowl.
"Begone you brats!" Tamamo no Mae screeched, flapping her large wings to send the three flying out of the room and slamming the door. Remaining in the peafowl form, Tamamo no Mae continued with her seal breaking.
"Oh one who brings molten lava to negative freezing, the one who fully embodies the ideals of Yin, rise forth! Your time has finally come, Soruka!" Tamamo no Mae called forth, a magical barrier being broken around the bed as she recited the words.
With the words concluded, Soruka slowly began to wake up, rubbing his eyes and stretching as he looked at the dark bird before him. "Mmmm...mother?"
Tamamo no Mae gave a sinister grin on the inside as she nodded. "Yes, that's who I am, I've changed quite a bit over the past millennia. Though I have a simple request for you..."
Soruka looked happy for a brief moment, his ears twitching a little bit curiously, could it really be? But, he had to stay on track. "W-What is it you want?"
"Why, there are horrible intruders in your domain, dear," Tamamo no Mae informed, Soruka looking fairly miffed in response.
"Must I really? I really don't like fighting…" Soruka commented, the dark peafowl looking at the negative twin dead in the eye.
"Listen...if you don't provoke violence to these fools, you will die. They will kill you if you sit and do nothing…" Tamamo no Mae explained, Soruka shaking a bit.
"I-I will die if I don't fight them?!" Soruka gasped in fear. Tamamo no Mae nodded.
"Yes, you must revel in despair and suffering in order to win, and then you may…" Tamamo no Mae began, helping the cold yokai up. "Be considered less of a pushover, less of a coward…"
"A-are you sure?" Soruka questioned, a bit unsure and worried. Tamamo no Mae's eyes began to shine a bright, uneasy hot pink, briefly blinding Soruka. The strange light, it caused something to snap in Soruka's heart...something uneasy to flow through.
The black haired yokai summoned his war fan forth and began to float outside. "If you insist, I will exterminate as quickly as possible."
Meanwhile outside, the three teens were trying to get back inside. The front door didn't seem to be locked, but there was a strong magical barrier they were all attempting to break. It wasn't going too well until it suddenly disappeared.
"It's gone?" Mao questioned at the strange disappearance of the barrier.
"Guess all of our fighting worked…" Kaira commented, putting his sword to the side.
"Either way, let's get back in and stop-" Kokoro tried to say, only for a powerful gust of cold wind to throw the three back once more as she attempted to open the door.
"...I will not rest until you are all eliminated…" Soruka said coldly, almost robotically as he stood in front of the knocked down trio.
"Well if you want to fight…We're going to give you one!" Kokoro said, holding out her emblem and nudging Mao to get out his. "Get yours out too, we're gonna fight!"
"R-Right!" Mao added in, though something just wasn't feeling right. Something was a bit off about this situation, but he couldn't let it bother him too much…
"The mind of the deep and near infinite ocean, let the eastern waves strike! If you would please come forth, the Azure Guardian...Seiryuu!" Kokoro began her transformation call, shining an azure
"Cloaked in snow, striking from the west when least expecting it! If you would please come forth…the White Guardian...Byakko!" Mao added into the transformation calling.
"Take this!" Kokoro yelled as she slammed her nine section whip to Soruka. However, he was able to avoid such a strike by simply stepping out of the way.
Soruka didn't have much to say, he quickly casted a small blast of ice to try and knock Kokoro down, but perhaps due to her inner burning soul she wasn't able to go down so easily, breaking through the ice with the nine section whip.
"C'mon! Just! Give! Up!" Kokoro yelled, trying to strike down the black haired yokai, who simply kept floating out of the way of her strikes.
"Not until you are eliminated," Soruka commented back, trying to strike the aggressive teen down with his clawed hand.
"Well I'm not gonna make your job any easier!" Kokoro shouted, finally getting a strike onto Soruka after whipping around plenty of times. It managed to fling Soruka back a bit, onto his back. Kokoro gave a smile.
"See? Not all too bad, nothin' a little straightforward think-" Kokoro tried to say, only for a strong aura to surround Soruka as he raised up his hand holding his wing-like war fan.
"...Soruka Beam!" Soruka shouted, blasting Kokoro with a controlled beam of chilling energy, freezing her in place! At least from the chest downwards, allowing her to somewhat move her arms and speak.
"Hey now!" Kokoro yelled, trying to break free from the ice, but she could barely move with her impulsive actions, and the strike of the beam made her drop her whip just out of reach. "That's kinda rude ain't it?!"
"I have no time to think about the rules of war when I'm attempting to finish things as quickly as possible…" Soruka remarked coldly, giving a slight sinister grin behind his fan.
"Fear not, please allow me to assist you in getting you out of this...cold mess…" Seiryuu reassured, floating over the icy prison Kokoro was trapped in and investigating on how he could try and break her out.
"Thanks dude," Kokoro thanked, Seiryuu clawing at the ice slowly but surely. "The sooner I'm out the sooner we can show Soruka who's boss!"
Soruka soon focused his extermination to that of Mao, the latter starting to feel a bit uneasy. How was he going to defend himself against something bent on fighting quickly and efficiently as possible?
But Mao had no time to ponder about it, right now he had to fend for himself!
"Ack!" Mao yelped, holding up the wind and fire wheeled as Soruka tried to slice Mao into ribbons with his claws.
"Please...stop trying to fight...it'll make my job easier…" Soruka tried to reason with the other, Mao keeping his stance up in trying to defend each and every sharpened strike.
"I know you don't want to fight, I can hear it in your voice, Soruka!" Mao responded back, Soruka looking shocked for a brief second before going back to his usual saddened but determined look.
"As much as I don't like fighting, I must do so…" Soruka explained to the other, unaware of a certain tiger creeping within the shadows of their confrontation.
"Why not? If none of us want to fight, would it be easier to just call it quits?" Mao asked a bit confused.
"Because if I don't eliminate all of you here...you will kill me no matter what!" Soruka explained, practically choking back. "That's what mother told me!"
Without another moment of hesitation, now was the moment for Byakko to finally strike, emerging from the shadows and pinning Soruka down from behind.
"Mao, now is your chance!" Byakko yelled, trying to keep the squirming and struggling yokai under control.
Upon given the command, Mao was a little bit shaken from the instructions. He could clearly and visibly see Soruka struggling, gasping for air as he wailed under the paws and claws of the great white tiger.
With hesitation, Mao very nervously lowered his wind and fire wheels to strike, only for Soruka to get a slight evil look in his eye as he managed to free his clawed hand. It glimmered with a cyan energy.
"Now! Cyan Claw!" Soruka yelled, knocking Mao back with a powerful clawed strike.
"Aaaaagh!" Mao yelped, hitting onto a large rock.
"Mao!" Kokoro yelled, finally getting free from the ice with the help from Seiryuu. She jumped onto the dragon's back to ride in to quickly save Mao and charge in after the cruel yokai.
"T-Thank you," Mao thanked, being picked up by Seiryuu and Kokoro. The latter gave a hearty smile.
"Don't mention it, now let's finish this!" Kokoro yelled, readying her whip as she jumped off Seiryuu's back to do a high dive attack. Mao stayed on Seiryuu, hopefully to pick up Byakko for a strong attack.
Being pinned by one holy beast, being pursued by two, and another dive bombing after you, Soruka felt quite pressued, until he finally snapped and…
"Below Freezing Wave…!" Soruka cried out with all his heart, his eyes going fully ice blue as he unleashed a powerful blizzard of ice across the area. It was not enough to get Byakko off of him, but to freeze him solid. Same for Kokoro, Seiryuu, and Mao, all frozen within a frosted prison.
"...They're all gone now, aren't they?" Soruka said with a sense of relief, looking at all the souls he had managed to freeze into place. They didn't move, snark, or say anything back to him.
Was he finally out of the clear? Could he stop fighting? It was odd, he felt another presence but it could have just been all the people down below, right?
Back in the abode that Soruka was sealed within, Kaira was looking around. Tamamo no Mae had flown out a while ago upon Soruka starting his fight with the others. He was on an important mission, though…
"C'mon there has to be a jacket somewhere…" Kaira questions aloud, looking through a closet within the previously sealed bedroom. "You can't possibly hope to survive the cold wearing a bolero without an undershirt!"
It took a bit of digging, but Kaira finally found a comfortable jacket with long, warm sleeves and covered himself nicely. He should have really asked Mao to bring that one jacket from the time they properly met…
Either way he was properly equipped for combat, holding out his sword as he stepped outside. He could hear that something went awry during the fight, the sound of several things freezing at once.
And he was correct, everyone who was trying to fight Soruka had been frozen completely solid! The snake king was stunned, feeling a strange feeling of...horror? His cold blood boiling? What was this?
"You…" Kaira began, gripping onto his sword. Soruka gave a rather dulled look at Kaira, holding his fan.
"What is it? Another one I have to freeze solid? Can't you guys just...stop?" Soruka questioned, Kaira practically boiling.
"You harmed my...my…" Kaira tried to say, Soruka looking less and less impressed.
"What were they to you? Comrades? Allies?" Soruka asked the snake.
"They were my f-f-friends you idiot!" Kaira finally yelled loudly. It wasn't enough to break or melt the ice, but it was clear he was absolutely boiling with anger.
In such a spit of pure rage, Kaira took out his sword, slamming is into the ground as hard as he possibly could. Several cracks appeared into the icy ground and out came a large serpent made of colorful energy.
Then came another.
And another.
And more and more until around fourteen of them were unleashed, all powerfully shattering the crystalized ice, freeing the others with enough energy to spare to focus themselves on another target.
"W-we're free?" Mao questioned, looking around.
"But how?" Kokoro asked as well, still just as puzzled as he was at how on earth they could have been freed.
The powerful energy snakes then focused themselves to Soruka, coiling and biting at him to make him give up.
"Aaargh!" Soruka yelled upon being attacked and coiled by the powerful energy snakes.
However, such a powerful move, and more powerful than it usually is, caused Kaira to collapse, an audible thud being heard.
"Kaira!" Mao yelled, rushing over to Kaira's side. "Are you okay?"
Kaira looked back at Mao with eyes just barely managing to stay open. "Please...don't worry about me...I've done what I could right now…"
The blue haired half yokai gave a small gentle smile, seeming to find some kind of legit happiness for once. "Besides...you saved me once...I needed to return a favor…"
With that, Kaira ended up being knocked out cold. Mao could sense that he was still alive, just unconscious thankfully.
Kokoro caught wind of what was going on and looked at Seiryuu.
"Seiryuu, please take Kaira back inside and heal him if you can," Kokoro requested with a determined look in her eye as she held her nine section whip. "Surely you have some healing magic, right?"
"A little bit, but only really for emergencies," Seiryuu informed the rough teen.
"Well this is an emergency, then!" Kokoro responded, going in back after Soruka. "Now I got a score to settle!"
Seiryuu took the request of Kokoro seriously, quickly snatching up Kaira and headed for the small abode, transforming into his less bestial form to get in much easier.
Being much more of the impulsive type, Kokoro went back to fighting Soruka, attempting to use her nine section whip to make him drop his fan.
"You're still here to fight despite the fall of one of your comrades?" Soruka asked the aggressive teen, countering each of her aggressive shots with ease. "If one of your fellows fell, should you give up already?"
"Yes you idiot! He saved me, Seiryuu, Byakko, and Mao's life so there's no way I'm going to let you get away like a sitting duck!" Kokoro yelled, managing to finally hit Soruka out of a fit of rage. The ice based twin ended up being knocked down once again from the strike, but soon got back up.
At the very moment Kokoro thought it was safe to let her guard down, Soruka struck back with a powerful blast of icy wind, fingling the teen backwards. Who knew such a depressed looking soul could have such sheer force?
"I'm not gonna freeze up t-to you again!" Kokoro tried to yell, but it was clear she was losing balance and fell over from still being quite chilly. She needed to recover, as much as she denied it at first.
The only remaining member was Mao and Byakko, both taking up their stances.
"So all that's left is you two, it seems," Soruka remarked at the sight with a bored tone. "How I'm pleased to finally be nearly done with this fight…"
The cold yokai held out his fan to his face once more, starting to charge with a much powerful aura than before. "Shame you wouldn't end this faster..."
Mao was completely frozen in place, shaking not only from the cold outside but fear as well. So many of his friends were getting hurt in this confrontation...would Mai and the others be holding up well with Noruka? Are they okay? Is anybody okay?
Plenty of raw anxiety was flowing through the poor boy's heart overthinking all of this at once, not noticing that his worrying and worrying only made Soruka's power charge faster and stronger until it finally finished charging…
"Icicle Rain…!" Soruka finally let out, eyes glowing an eerie, cold cyan as he unleashed a powerful, pelting storm of icicles onto the field, hoping to pierce Mao and Byakko into mere popsicles.
"Stop standing around!" Byakko yelped, leaping up as high as he could to destroy the icicles. "You're gonna get pelted, Mao!"
While Byakko managed to get Mao to safety, Soruka managed to look dead into the tiger's eyes...Seeming to remember something...
Something that made the usually calm and quiet yokai burst with an unholy amount of anger.
"You…!" Soruka hissed under his breath, seeping with absolute anger at the feline. He wasn't sure what this hazy memory was with those tiger eyes, but it made himself very uneasy. It was enough to start directing plenty more of those icicles to Byakko's general direction.
Being a master of stealth, Byakko did his usual maneuvers to try and escape, but the icy twin yokai seemed to have some of his speed, managing to grab the white tiger by his tail. With a truly frightening amount of strength, Soruka threw Byakko into the rain of ice, pinning the tiger down.
For the usually snarky tiger, Byakko didn't have anything to say. He was just stuck, unable to move. Though, somehow, deep down in his soul, he knew Soruka probably remembered what he did...and he wasn't going to let him forget.
Everything from the rain of icicles being unleashed, to being trapped into ice, to his friends being hurt...It was all too much for Mao. He couldn't help but fall down and starting crying...many emotions flowed through him…
Fear...overloading...anger...it all boiled within his heart...Something finally snapped in him as his visible eye began to shine a searing silver…
"...Mao!?" Kokoro observed from afar despite the rain of icicles falling down. It was clear a radiant, silvery aura was starting to surround the boy…
"Mao you can't...oh no...oh nooo…" Byakko realized, looking absolutely stricken with worried. The rain of ice had finally stopped, but Byakko's fear and tension only grew and grew, still being stuck in ice.
"Do you remember what I told you about awakening!?" Byakko pleaded with the boy, looking concerned.
"I can't hold back! Even if this is my last moment, I'll have at the very least protected everyone!" Mao responded with, understanding very well what was at stake it felt like.
After a final yell, a powerful burst of energy blasted through Mao, enough to make Soruka stand back a little from the sheer force and power.
Once the light died down, Mao was still standing alive and well despite Byakko's words. The black haired boy looked a whole lot different now, yet still the same. His black hair was now tipped with white and gained some of Byakko's more tiger-ish features, such as clawed paw hands and some stripes, but silver and a dark grey as opposed to black and white. A bright yellow accented several of his new features, including a large fluffy tail, a single crescent shaped horn on his head and silvery hooves.
"My wild instincts have awakened, I am now the silver beast prince of the gentle winds and glistening metals, I am known as Yeomao!" The newly revealed Yeomao stated as boldly as he could, even doing a bit of a pose.
Soruka looked a bit at the strange new beast. "Another holy beast? Your aura is much weaker than that of Byakko or Seiryuu, so I'll make sure you are swiftly terminated..."
"Take this! And this!" Soruka yelled, firing two blasts of ice at Yeomao.
"Y-you take it back now!" Yeomao responded with, firing a blast of silvery wind back at the blasts of ice, scattering it to the point of no longer doing any harm. Soruka was a bit displeased at the glistening beast's countering measures, charging at him with his claws ready.
Yeomao was having none of that this time, responding with a quick, powerful slash then followed up with a bucking kick in Soruka's jaw. Despite his blood being boiled beyond belief, he did feel quite a bit of guilt for being so rough. The icy yokai was knocked down briefly, so hopefully this should give Yeomao a good window of time to check on something...
"Kokoro! Are you okay?" Yeomao asked Kokoro, trying to help her up. She simply brushed off her sleeves and crossed her arms.
"Yeah I'm fine, beasty kiddo so no worries," Kokoro responded with a smug grin. "Now stand back, if you're gonna go all full yokai, so can I, buddy!"
Yeomao took a step back as Kokoro became enveloped in a strong stormy aura, revealing herself as her true form as the yokai princess of the pretty tribe, Suseri. Now fully charged and ready, Suseri began darting over to the abode.
"Yo! Seiryuu! Can you come out for a bit!" Suseri called out, the dragon humanoid stepping out briefly.
"Yes?" Seiryuu asked, Suseri quickly diverting her attention to quickly zap Soruka down with a bolt of lightning.
"We got a fight to finish here, if Kaira needs to rest, let him keep resting!" Suseri instructed, pretty much bursting with energy. "And I think it might be best if you were a bit, you know, bigger and scalier."
"I suppose, if the action calls for it," Seiryuu commented back, quickly heading out and transforming into his more dragon-like appearance. "I just appreciate having opposable thumbs sometimes."
Suseri jumped onto the dragon's back, starting to channel a much more powerful energy than before, hopefully her most powerful attack she could conjure alongside Seiryuu.
"Byakko! They're going to need our help too!" Yeomao called out to the white tiger, quickly running over to him to free him from his icy chains prison.
Byakko didn't have anything to say in response, which was unusual since he was usually the one with something to say. Perhaps he was focused on not only channeling his energy, but also efficiently climbing up the glacier mountains to reach a high enough point to catch up with the true blue duo.
"Please…" Soruka remarked to himself, starting to stand back up from the shock. "Please...all of you...just...perish already…"
Something sensed Soruka about to charge and snipe the awakened yokai out of sight, charging in quickly from an unexpected place.
"Not on my watch you won't!" Kaira yelled, emerging from the abode and hitting Soruka from behind and causing him to fall over.
"K-Kaira!" Yeomao observed with a fearful tone. "You haven't finished recovering, y-you're going to hurt yourself even more!"
"And I'm not gonna let Soruka take you down!" Kaira responded with, jumping on Soruka to pin him down more physically. He tapped his sword into the ground to summon at least two of the energy snakes to hopefully assist in the pinning down of Soruka, even at the cost of Kaira being knocked off the black haired yokai with minimal effort afterwards.
"Now! It's now or never!" Kaira yelled, going back right where he was on hanging on with a loose thread of his life.
Suseri and Seiryuu positioned themselves to the east, starting to cast up lightning and water respectively. Byakko and Yeomao took to the rest, conjuring up ice and wind. The two sides faced each other, and started running to one another.
"Dragon that faces the azure east!" Suseri and Seiryuu yelled together, their powers starting to amplify.
"Tiger that faces the white west!" Yeomao and Byakko shouted in unison, emitting a powerful blanket of snow and wind.
Both sides came to the center with Soruka, looking about ready to slam into each other. Suseri and Yeomao reached out to each other's hands, gripping firmly.
"Eternally Harmonious Rivalry Hurricane!" The quartet shouted, a powerful storm of water, lightning, ice, and wind enveloping up Soruka with great, sheer force of what seemed like nature itself being truly angered.
Once the storm calmed down, Soruka laid down face first in defeat. "So...I'm defeated again...I should expect nothing different…"
Kokoro, having gone back to normal in her civilian clothes and everything, ran over to Soruka, trying to aid him.
"You shouldn't have tried to kill us to be honest…" Kokoro reasoned, shaking her head at realizing her harshness. "But, you're okay now, right? We aren't here to fight anymore."
"I suppose...from that attack you preformed I had realized something…" Soruka added in, seeming much more mellowed out now. "That shadowy bird was not mother...Not at all…"
"Indeed she wasn't," Seiryuu added in, aiding both Soruka and a very exhausted Kaira. "That was none other than Tamamo no Mae, a master of disguise and lover of absolute suffering of others."
"Suppose my demeanor made it easy for her to manipulate me…" Soruka realized, being a bit of a crisis of oneself with a shake of his head. He gave a hefty sigh and tried to calm down. "But I suppose since I lost I'm taken as prisoner now, correct?"
"Don't...think of it like that," Kokoro reassured, rubbing the back of her head. "It's friendship since you're gonna be our friend now, right?"
"Friend…" Soruka began, his eyes lightening up a little bit. "I like the sound of that…"
As Kokoro quickly got work on informing the others about the situation, at least after checking a few things on her phone, Mao looked over to Byakko, having turned back to normal. Byakko, for a change of pace, changed into his more humanoid form.
"Byakko...I have a lot of questions to ask if that's okay," Mao asked, the white tiger being silent as he had his arms folded. Though, it seemed he was listening so Mao took a deep breath and got his thoughts together.
"You said if I were to awaken to my yokai powers, I would combust into flames and be no more...yet that didn't happen," Mao let out, not sounding angry but rather worried and confused. "And yet, despite you saying I was related to Great King Enma, my aura was nothing like his...at least the current one that is. What's going on?"
Byakko pinched his brow, feeling like a lot of guilt and unease was on his shoulders. "Mao...There's a lot I didn't explain or merely twisted for the sake of your own safekeeping."
Before Mao could call Byakko out for not being clear and straight up lying, the tiger made a motion for the boy to be quiet.
"You are not the previous Great King Enma's son...but rather my own," Byakko revealed, Mao being at an absolute loss for words. "Please, allow me to explain in further detail, one that is the absolute truth."
It was not all that long ago compared to other recollections of the past, only about two decades ago. It was on a familiar, snowy mountain range, Byakko on the prowl after sensing something once again like all those years ago.
Though instead of two yokai that seemed to share his aura, it was a single yokai completely beyond any yoki wavelengths of Byakko. Upon inspection, it seemed to be a cross between a dragon and a deer, sporting dark grey scales, light blue whisps for a mane, and a single silvery horn.
Taking in the yokai, Byakko watched over the strange creature until they were conscious once more, revealing golden and cyan eyes.
"...Where am I?" The deer dragon questioned, observing his surroundings. Byakko approached the other, gazing at him.
"You are in my domain now, name's Byakko," Byakko introduced himself, the other yokai looking surprised.
"Byakko, you mean the legendary tiger said to appear before great kings?" The other yokai asked, before nodding. "I'm Ikkaku of the Pokapoka tribe, I too bless great kings as well."
"Seems like we could get a mutual relationship going then," Byakko responded with. "Run around giving only the most worthy of kings our blessings…"
Ikkaku looked pretty happy at that idea. "I enjoy that, plus it would be good to stay hidden for a while given all the wicked types after my horn."
The years between the two went by as their bond became more and more strong. It had been just a bit over five years of their bonding, going from acquaintances to a deep romance until one important day...
"Ikkaku!" Byakko yelled, searching through the caverns until he found his beloved mate, though a lot weaker and unable to move very much.
"Ikkaku! Are you alright?" Byakko asked, laying next to the dragon deer. Something was moving under the front legs of Ikkaku, catching Byakko's attention.
"Byakko...I don't have much time left in this world…" Ikkaku weakly said, seeming to have his power fade by the minute. "Though with most of my energy, I was able to secure that our successor is safe…"
"Our...what now?" Byakko questioned, looking closer at the...thing moving by Ikkaku's front legs. They looked humanoid, no scales in sight and only a bit of black and white fur on their head. How strange...regardless Byakko got low enough to try and pick up the child.
"He's ours...Byakko...so please...take care of him…" Ikkaku pleaded, mere seconds away from being nothing. "And if you can't….find someone worthy...who can…please..."
With those final words, Ikkaku was gone, leaving Byakko with nothing more than the mostly furless cub before him.
Byakko gave a heavy sigh, knowing a good friend was gone now and he was back to being all alone.
Though, this was a hard choice to think about. He could try to raise his new child on his own, he was quite cute but….He already failed not once but twice? What was to stop him from becoming a failure a third time? Sure third time's the charm and all, but what if luck truly wasn't on his side.
And if raised under his supervision, what if this poor child would end up like him, but far worse? Someone that would try to slay him, or even worse, cause a massive destructive wake just like those two...
Byakko looked down, quickly gathering a few blankets to wrap the child up in safely and gently. He knew what was probably the best choice. It wasn't an easy one, but it was the one that might end best.
"From what I heard from the winds...The Great King Enma has been unable to produce a male heir…" Byakko commented to himself, starting to embark with his new child in mouth. He could travel pretty swiftly and quietly, making sure nobody could see him as he followed the west wind. "So hopefully...I can give such a wonderful ruler something worthy of his noble rule..."
When coming back to reality, Byakko looked off a bit coldly. "I'm sorry I couldn't have told you this sooner…please head back inside and warm up, I'm going to need some moments outside…"
"Byakko…" Mao responded with, Byakko's look getting all the more heavy.
"I said go! Go right now1" Byakko yelled back, everyone else headed inside to warm up and relax. Everyone looked a bit worried at each other.
"What was his deal all about?" Kaira asked, wrapped tightly with blankets and some warm soup.
"I don't know…" Soruka responded, looking a bit uneasy. "I've only ever known Byakko for a few brief moments across all the time we've encountered one another and he...he seems more familiar than just being another holy beast yokai…"
The room was quiet for a bit, before Seiryuu, back in his humanoid form stood up and went to the door. "Give me a moment, I'll go speak with him and see what I can do…"
Byakko was busy sulking outside, not seeming to be bothered by the cold but much more his own feelings. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but jumping off this floating island, and somehow making sure he didn't land on his feet sounded swell. Maybe drown into the depths of the freezing cold ocean...
"My apologies, Byakko, I don't think you want to see me right now," Seiryuu greeted, Byakko looking up a little.
"Frankly I usually loathe your presence, but I've actually been needing to ask you something…" Byakko asked, Seiryuu looking a bit surprised.
"Go on," Seiryuu answered with, Byakko taking a deep breath.
"How is it you're a good parent?" Byakko began, seeming rather bothered by something. "Otohime seems to respect you a great amount, and even your brother Nanda-Ryuuoh does so as well…Especially since you're always such a stick in the mud all the time..."
Seiryuu looked absolutely stunned by what Byakko had asked of him, causing the blue dragon to go into deep thought. "To be frank, raising children can be a very difficult thing to do and there isn't a solid answer on it…"
Byakko looked off to the side, a bit displeased. "Figures…"
"But...even I messed up when raising Otohime and Nanda-Ryuuoh, nobody's perfect, not even myself," Seiryuu admitted full well with a sense of sincerity. "I'm pretty sure asking for forgiveness wouldn't hurt, would it?"
The white tiger assassin shook his head. "No no, you don't get it, do you? There's a difference between maybe being too busy some days and being completely absent...And I've done that not once but three times in my life, four if you count my relationship Suzaku…"
"It's true Suzaku may be one who's still merciless, speaking with her always feels like walking on eggshells…" Seiryuu began to conclude, looking off. "Noruka, Soruka, and Mao are different...maybe they'll take your word…"
The white tiger humanoid about was ready to deliver a slap right across Seiryuu's face. "You still don't understand anything now do you? You claim to be a wise old dragon, but you aren't! Do you realize I nearly murdered one of my children because I thought following up on an old plan would be wise? You saw how angry Soruka was!"
Seiryuu got a bit silent, taking a deep breath as he gently tried to hold the angry tiger back. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, but not everybody is going to be like Suzaku. It's a risk sometimes worth taking."
Byakko was only silent, not even speaking a word. Seiryuu didn't have any other words to offer himself, just silence.
The azure dragon was going to have to bring somebody, two somebody's, who would be able to speak some words on this situation himself.
"Lord Byakko?" Soruka asked, catching the attention of the humanoid tiger yokai. How did he get here….Did Seiryuu quietly ask him to come here?
"Byakko? What is it you need?" Mao asked as well, getting the attention of the aforementioned yokai further.
"I see you two have arrived…" Byakko opened with, giving a hefty sigh. "It comes with my deepest and most honest apologies that I've been nothing more than a massive failure as the father to both of you…"
Mao and Soruka were silenced at the sight, a bit taken back by what Byakko said. He stood up, holding out his arms. "So please, if you must, end me here, do what you feel is necessary…"
Instead of trying to slay the beast, Mao and Soruka instead ended up hugging Byakko, much to the latter's shock.
"Please, don't worry Byakko, I understand now what you did and why…" Mao responded with, accepting the tiger's plea of forgiveness.
"For eons I wondered why I never had a father or felt I really fit in…" Soruka began, still hugging tightly as he could. "But now I feel happy I finally have someone who can possibly understand things better than my mother…"
"You two…" Byakko smiled, just about crying as he hugged the two. "I'm proud of you to have you as my sons…"
The two hugged for a little bit longer, feeling a bit better to finally have a lot of weight lifted from their shoulders.
"We should probably be getting back in now, I think we're all tired and we need to rest up before meeting with Noruka and the others…" Mao suggested, Byakko and Soruka nodding.
"Sounds like a good idea," Soruka remarked, seeming to be legit happy for once. "As much as I like the cold, being warm and taking a nap sounds nice right now…"
The three headed back inside, to warm up and get some much needed rest. Things were starting to draw to a close, the only thing left to do was finally confront Tamamo no Mae to hopefully end her reign of terror once and for all...