Chapter 6: It's Not a Love Triangle, I Swear
Was it a bad idea to let Pixie and Hua Po compete like this? Naoki had thought that it would happen whether he liked it or not, but the jirae's fire spells could come in handy. Especially since he'd let Kodama and Shikigami stay behind; having a group traveling together did seem safer. Hopefully, the unspoken rules of having a contract would keep them from being too disruptive (although he wasn't too sure what such rules would be as a result of them being unspoken).
The two of them had already started bickering when they stepped outside Shinjuku Medical Center. He couldn't pay attention as his horn was drawing information on their surroundings. With all the damage around them, only the hospital was safe to enter in this part. Nothing was living aside from demons and the plants the kodamas were watching after. Kagutsuchi was at 6/8 waning, the expanse was too large for him to get a good mental map of even though this was only a portion of what Tokyo had been.
Once his horn settled down, he crouched down and scooped up some of the sand. It looked orange-brown from a distance, but up close, he could tell it was made up of many particles: concrete, steel, glass, plastic, copper, shell, wood, bone, and more. There was a tiny tooth in there, from a mouse. "This is ashes of the city," he said.
"What, the sand?" Hua Po asked. "But that stuff's everywhere! Some parts are pretty deep with it too."
"Tokyo was bigger than the Vortex World," he said. And the Conception was enough to reduce most of it to sand. Naoki squeezed his eyes shut, feeling like the slightest push could throw him into rage or grief. The sand kept slipping through his fingers.
"It could come back," Pixie said; he could hear her wings nearby. "The world's gonna be reborn and since all the potential Reason bearers were here, Tokyo should come back with the world. And if the right Reason comes about, we could live in the world too."
"That would be the best because then I could be a super pop idol!" Hua Po said.
"Can you even sing?" she retorted.
"Of course I can, but looking the part is more important," she said, making a catwalk pose in the air.
"I'm going ahead," Naoki said. If they kept squabbling, they'd not get far. "Are you coming along?"
"Yes!" both of them called, flying after him immediately.
As he walked out of the cluster around the hospital, Naoki thought about how this had all been one flat area, full of streets and buildings. One should not be able to see Yoyogi Park from here. But there it was, sitting on a slope upwards. The only thing between them and the park was a chasm of some kind. Boulders and other chunks of land floated within that black void.
It still shouldn't take long to walk there, even with arguing company.
The mass of gray-clad manikins quivered up the highway ramp; they'd been ordered to march but seemed incapable of doing so. The cold blue light of Kagutsuchi shone down on them. Did it pity them or did it not care? It felt like Kagutsuchi could see all.
A hefty club thumped behind them. "Come on, get a move on!" the gray oni bellowed. "It'll be over quicker if you just get going." Of course, the march wouldn't compare to what was awaiting these dolls at their destination.
"Man, why do we got to escort these uglies?" another oni asked. "They're weaklings that anybody with muscles can shove around, and they smell." Even so, they produced magatsuchi like no one else in the Vortex World, save perhaps the humans that were under Kagutsuchi's protection. That made manikins ideal for Gozu-Tennoh's plan to gather energy for the Mantra's ideal world.
"It's not something that would appeal to any babes, that's for sure. We're the strongest of the Mantra aside from our leader! We ought to be doing good stuff, like smashing up those prissy Nihilo stiffs." It'd be harder since Nihilo scurried around like roaches, hiding in their holes and working out of sight. But it'd be more satisfying to smash them than to escort these dolls.
An engine's roar built up in the distance. Ongyo-ki, leader of the four oni, moved along the waddling whimpering masses to see what was up. As the lead manikins were about to step onto the highway itself, a blaze of spinning fire and trailing smoke swept into a wide turn to come to a stop right in front of them. The manikins near the leather-clad skeleton tripped onto their hands, knees, and bums at that, causing those behind them to bump into each other and trip themselves. The skeleton laughed at that.
"Get lost!" Ongyo-ki shouted at him. "These manikins are the property of the Mantra, so if you mess them up, we'll be messing you up in exchange."
"You think you can take me?" the biker asked smugly. "Nah, keep herding your sheep. Just stick them to the side cause all highways belong to me." He then sped off the way he'd come, laughing as he went.
"Boss, you gonna let that shithead get away with that?" Kin-ki called over while the other two yelled at the manikins to get back up and move.
Ongyo-ki grumbled. "Hmm, let's get these sheep to their pen first. On the way back, we'll punch that smug grin off his skull. He'll regret ordering us about."
What did he see in that Hua Po? Sure, her Agi spell was torching the demons out here, but she had a vulnerability that she as a pixie didn't. Hua Po was vain, boastful, and flaky, trying to provoke a fight even though they had a contract with the same guy. Pixie and Demi could have crossed this distance without her.
However, it might be over already. Yoyogi Park was a fairy fortress, all fenced off for them with only a few small passages to enter from. They had to watch out for other fliers (like this stinking Hua Po), but Pixie was sure there were defense plans already. At the moment, there was a troll and a high pixie near this entrance.
"Yay, we're here!" Pixie said, flying ahead some. It was a relief that her scouting mission was finally done. Although, did she want to leave Demi with that girl? It might be like admitting defeat.
"Fairies only!" the troll bellowed, beating its chest.
"Yeah, what'd you go bringing those guys along for?" the high pixie asked.
"Ignore the jirae, but this guy Demi helped me out a lot," Pixie said. Demi had walked to her side, staring up at the troll. Hua Po harrumphed and turned aside. "I had a contract to come here with him. So, I guess this is goodbye."
As she'd hoped, he left off his impromptu staring match to look at her. "That's too bad."
"Well I can take good care of you from here on out," Hua Po said flirtatiously, trying to jump in.
Pixie ignored her. "Oh? It sounds like you're reluctant to leave me behind." Hua Po glared at her from behind Demi's shoulder and it took all her willpower not to smirk.
"I'd like you to come along," Demi said, after a moment figuring out his words. He was a bit slow that way, but he was cute and could be incredibly powerful. An ally like that was too good to give up so quickly.
"Well if you feel that way, who am I to refuse?" she said, winking (mostly at Hua Po in victory). "I should pass my report along, but we can go soon."
The high pixie chuckled, seeming proud of her for showing up Hua Po. "I can take it from here. Even if he's your friend, we'd rather not have others outside the clan getting in."
"Sure thing," Pixie said, turning to her.
"That's fine," Demi added, turning back to the troll. The troll stared back dumbly.
"So, uh, you were the one who went to the hospital place not far from here, right?" the high pixie said.
She nodded. "Right. I had some trouble getting locked into part of the building, but Demi here helped me get out. There's some gardens still over there, but a group of kodama have already claimed them in place of trees. And they've even got a group of shikigami protecting them! So that's a loss."
"Too bad, most of the plants here died already," she said. "Who's got claim to that place?"
"Demi does! He's a fiend, and he led us to beat up the one who'd claimed it before, Forneus. But he's looking for some humans now; you seen any?"
She put a hand to her chin. "Not myself, but another guard here said they encountered a human girl with a demon of Kagutsuchi serving her. They got turned away, so they went on to Shibuya."
"Good, she might be Chiaki," Demi said.
The high pixie then looked over Demi. "It's not that much further on, but it was a while ago they would've passed through. Anyhow, are you sure he's a fiend? Fiends are supposed to be horrifically powerful, hand-picked by Lord Lucifer himself."
"Hmm?" Demi finally glanced at the high pixie.
"Well yeah, but get this: he's a total newbie!" Pixie put her hands on her hips. "Like he was human before the world died, and now he's a fiend. So he might not look like a total powerhouse, but you gotta admit, a newbie ought not have the power to knock around somebody like Forenus with his bare hands, even with help from someone like me."
"You got a point there," the high pixie said. "Is he being good to you?"
"Oh yeah, he's super nice when you're not an enemy," she said. "He's even nice to a loser who was totally walled by Forneus," She tilted her head over towards Hua Po, much to her embarrassment.
"Fiends are picked by Lucifer?" Demi asked in concern.
"Of course they are," the high pixie said. "I don't know how he picks them, but they exist outside the demon hierarchy and take orders directly from him. Didn't you meet him as a fiend?"
His eyes closed as he thought about it. "I think so, now that you mention it."
"Are you going to try taking over Yoyogi too?" the high pixie asked with bravado; her wings beat a bit faster. "This is our home now."
Still thinking, he shook his head. Pixie felt she had to step up for him. "Well, he kept a contract with me, you saw that. So we can consider him a friend to the Fairy clan, right?" He nodded to that.
"That's for the king and queen to decide," the high pixie said. "But I'll let them know that he means us no ill will at this time. Is that all for your report?"
"Sure, I got nothing more to add," she said.
Demi then looked back up at the troll. "You have Anhk."
"Ak?" the troll rumbled. They were even slower than Demi, but that was due to low intelligence.
"The magatama," he said, a glint appearing in his markings. He'd been like that when he said that Forneus had one too.
Not good, she didn't want him making enemies with her clan! Because then she'd be a traitor! Trying not to show nervousness, Pixie said, "Oh, one of those white bug things that have your scattered power? Yeah, that thing rightfully belongs to him."
"Did you pick up an actual bug?" the high pixie asked.
"Mm, found a snack," the troll said, searching his chest hair until he came out with a squirming white bug. "Demi a friend? Share with friend." He then offered the magatama without asking for anything.
"Thanks," Demi said, taking the bug. It squirmed even more, so he put it in his mouth quickly. Now what? The last one had knocked him out for a while.
Luckily, she recalled something they'd picked up out in the sands. "Oh hey, remember that weird muscle drink we picked up? Trolls like that, it'd be a good trade."
"Trade snacks?" the troll asked, more interested now.
"Mmhm," he nodded and magically brought out the drink. Pixie thought those things were nasty, and this one had to be even nastier having been stuck out in the sand.
Unlike her, the troll was delighted with it. "Good! We are friends, having shared snacks."
"That was gross, but whatever makes you guys happy," the high pixie said. "Good luck finding the humans."
"Right, thanks for taking the report," Pixie said, giving a wave and then hurrying over to Demi's shoulder. "Come on, let's sneak out before they see how much that weakens you."
He nodded, looking queasy when he turned around. But Demi still managed to walk through the gate and lead them a short ways towards the chasm before he dropped suddenly onto his knees. He put his hands on his legs and held his head down.
"Are you gonna sleep for a whole K cycle again?" Hua Po asked.
"Aw come on, he was human and humans usually sleep longer than that," Pixie said. "You're so insensitive."
"Well if he's gonna be a fiend now, he's got to be badass and confidant to match," she said. "The other ones might kick him around if they think he's not putting forth a good show for their clan."
"That could be," she admitted. Things were generally civil among the fairies, but other clans like the Brutes could get very competitive. And given their unique status, the Fiends had to be mindful of their reputations.
"So these bug things are his scattered powers, huh?" Hua Po smiled and clapped her hands together. "Then we've got to get hold of them as soon as we can! The sooner he gets past this weakness, the better. How many are there?"
"Who knows," Pixie said.
Surprisingly, Demi uncurled himself and shook his head as if to clear it. "Twenty-four."
"Huh, well you've got three now," Pixie said. "That's a long ways to go. How're you feeling?"
"Better, that went better," he said, getting back on his feet. He was briefly unsteady, but that was it. "Let's move on."
"Yeah, we've got to get you more badass to fit your clan," Hua Po said.
Pixie wanted that, but she didn't want to look like she was agreeing with Hua Po. Luckily, angry cursing kept her from having to respond right then. An incubus got tossed out face first into the sand nearby. "And you stay out this time!" the high pixie called, her eyes glaring like fire.
Sputtering, the incubus pushed himself back into the air. "Aw come on, I'm not going all the way in," he argued. "The fount's right outside your big walls, lemme stay out there!"
"No exceptions," the high pixie insisted. "If you're that desperate for a fountain of life, go to Shibuya. Just leave us be."
"But I know this one is run by a hot chick, what if the other one's got an old hag?"
"That's your problem. Stay out." The high pixie then flew back inside.
"What a killjoy," the incubus grumbled, then looked over at them. "Right? Oh hey, you've got some cute chicks with you."
"Oh yeah, who do you like better?" Hua Po asked. Pixie rolled her eyes; an incubus had no discrimination whatsoever.
"Hey, I said you were cute, not smoking hot like the fount babe," he said dismissively. "Have you seen her, man? She's hot!"
"No," Demi said. "We are going to Shibuya. You could prove her wrong."
Even if it took him a moment to speak, Demi was clever. "Huh, never thought of it that way," the incubus said. "All right, mind if I travel along? No commitments! I'm in pursuit of a babe and nothing else."
"That's fine," he said. Maybe Hua Po would pester the incubus instead.
Manikin footsteps were light, suggesting that there wasn't much to them. His footsteps seemed too loud with the silence of this hall. A while ago, this area had a dozen manikins at least clearing the building out. Where were they now? And why couldn't he have done more to protect them? Futomimi didn't know; he'd seen the oni responsible in his visions but he'd not known when they'd show up. Or was it that something he saw was unavoidable?
Heavier footsteps came from the turn ahead, someone powerful enough to not care if he was heard or not. So many of his people were suffering because these demons saw them as fitting slaves. Was it really responsible for a leader to keep hiding away while the people suffered? He wasn't being much of a leader. But, something else rose to the forefront of his mind. A group of the manikin children had escaped the previous raids by hiding in an arcade here. Futomimi had told them to hide away again and keep silent. They'd be on their own, but at least they wouldn't be slaves.
At the corner, he stopped as if he'd only just realized the danger. The one who rushed out from the corner wasn't one of oni. He could barely walk in these halls from his formidable height (he might not be able to reach the children unless he crawled). His boots and helm were bronze in color and his cape was long and white. While he carried a hammer with a head like an anvil, Thor swept his arm out to catch Futomimi and shock him into immobility.
"You're a different one," Thor said; his hidden eyes made it hard to tell what he might be thinking. "Hmph. There must be others." His body then shrank, larger than Futomimi but now able to get through the following hallways.
"I..." even his tongue felt heavy, not wanting to move. "I was looking f-for others."
Thor stared at him a moment, maybe glaring. While he dragged Futomimi down the stairs to another set of halls, he decided any others wouldn't be here. They then went through another part of Asakusa searching for other manikins. There wouldn't be, it was just that group of children. Would they be safe for now?
Even as he tried to catch a glimpse of things, Futomimi couldn't tell the fate of those children. He did see the uncertain demon, now walking through the sands of the Vortex World. Perhaps he should pray that the uncertainty leaned to the manikins' favor.
Why didn't Demi favor her over that haughty Pixie? It made no sense; Pixie barely looked like a girl while Hua Po was a perfect image of a cute girl. Plus all the jerks in the Fairy clan thought they were the best among demons when they were nothing special. Demi was a fiend, a new one, yes, and so he wasn't all that strong or renown yet. But Hua Po wasn't about to let the fairies claim him as their ally. She had to get him to lose this pixie and be more in favor of the jirae.
And now they were traveling with an incubus who must've been blind not to see her true charms. "What's a fiend like you doing wandering around?" he asked.
"I'm looking for people, and magatama," Demi answered.
"Not magatsuhi?" the incubus asked in disbelief. "You're a weird one, but I understand. We can live bold and forward here without a care, so why not take in the sights and enjoy this time to the fullest?"
Wanting to show off for Demi, Hua Po decided to make the incubus think he was awesome. "If you wanna be lazy, sure, but we're going to get powerful in ways you can't begin to imagine. We're gonna make Demi a total badass."
The incubus shrugged. "If that's your pleasure, go for it. But if you want to do that, you've got to surround yourself with all kinds of hot ladies, not just a pair of cute chicks. You're doing good getting them to fawn all over you in a love triangle, but the more you get like that, and the bigger variety, the better. Then all the other guys will be just green with envy."
"It's not a love triangle, I swear!" Pixie claimed, going pink-faced.
"Is that what you think it's not?" Hua Po teased. Meanwhile, Demi had closed his eyes again, like he didn't want to be involved. That wasn't good; she really had to pile up the charm with this guy.
"It sure looks like it to me," the incubus said with a wicked grin.
"I think you got it in the wrong order," Demi said. "A guy who is badass will get an admiring crowd, but the crowd doesn't make him badass."
"But you'd make people think you're badass, and that's a start," the incubus argued. "Oh yeah, and take a tip from me: don't go for sunglasses. They do have an inarguable sex appeal, but what's the point if you can't see the appeal of the other sex as well?"
"But sunglasses are hot on guys," Hua Po said. "Maybe you should get a dark jacket? Cause that would be a cool look. Or one of those big long coats."
"No, can't you see the power in his markings?" Pixie countered. "If he wants to be really attractive, he could show those off as much as possible."
"I'm not losing my pants too," Demi said.
The incubus cackled. "Oh-ho, you say that now, but just you wait. You'll run into a really hot babe at some point and can't wait to lose the pants." Demi shook his head at that.
"Well Shibuya's a hot spot for shopping," Hua Po said, not wanting to let the conversation get away from her. Granted, she hadn't been in this town for a while, not since she got stuck because of Forneus. She wasn't going to admit to any of that. "We're sure to find clothes or accessories to help out the look. Hey, so what do you think would look hot on you?"
"I have no idea," Demi said, not sounding interested.
"He's fine as he is," Pixie insisted. She had to be brown-nosing to get a favored status.
After more discussion of what might help Demi look his part, they arrived at Shibuya. It was a larger cluster than around the hospital, with taller buildings too. Electronic billboards were dark, not yet working. Was someone working on them? Having those back would make Shibuya the liveliest place in the Vortex World. The street was mostly cleared off; a number of ghosts passed through as faded images. Other ghosts were strong enough to converse with the demons there.
"Here we are!" Hua Po said. Then she pointed out there nearer of the two underground entrances. "The Fountain of Life is down there.
"Man, I hope the healer here is hot," the incubus said, heading off without even a thank you.
Not that it matter. She waved her new friend over. "Come on, Demi, you should see it for yourself. This place has a bunch of the basic shops for a demon community, so you should know what to expect."
"All right," he said, following her downstairs. Pixie came along too, unfortunately.
Down the stairs, she noticed that a lot of the human stores were still being ignored. But the shops for demons had been fixed up completely with the proper signs and everything. "Yeah, this is a good place," Hua Po said. "See the glowing glyphs on the door? That tells you what kinda shop it is. Like, that's a junk shop, they're a general kind of store with useful junk and not so useful junk. Whatever the owner feels like selling, pretty much. On the other side, that's the sign for the Fountain of Life, where demon healers reside. They'll heal up all your wounds and even revive a demon you have a contract with. But then, we're both delicate girls, you know? Don't go expecting us to drag your body to a healer, so don't be dying on us now."
"What, you wouldn't even try with a contract partner?" Pixie said.
Then the door to the fount opened up just long enough for the incubus to get hurled out into the hall. He sprawled out on the glossy floor, not caring how it appeared. "Whoa, she's hot and strong! She's gotta be the one for me."
"After she threw you out like that?" Pixie asked, hiding a smirk behind her hand.
"She's just playing hard to get, I'll win her over, heh heh."
"Anyhow," Hua Po said, tossing her head. That wasn't important. "There's a terminal room right next to the fount here. And across from there, there's a Cathedral of Shadows. That's a fun place; you can fuse demons together as long as you have a contract with them both. In return, you'll get much stronger and cooler allies that are just as loyal to you as they were before. I mean, I'm awesome as I am, but I was always curious how much more awesome I could be after being fused."
"I am not about to get fused with you," Pixie said as if the mere thought of that was appalling.
"Well I wouldn't want that either," she said. "But we can make contracts with others and then try fusing. Hmm, what do you think of that, Demi?"
When she looked at him, he had his eyes closed. Had he been paying attention to her tour talk? Demi ran his tongue across his lips. "Could try later," he said, having a hard time speaking. He put a hand to the side of his head. "So much stuff… Iyomante, Shiranui, there's two magatama here." He opened his eyes and looked to the junk shop.
He was obsessed with those bugs. Then again, if her powers got scattered to the winds all of a sudden, she'd be obsessed too with getting them back. "Well that's some good progress," Hua Po said.
"Hmm, do you sense stuff about new places?" Pixie asked. "Cause you always space out even when we just enter a new room."
Demi nodded slowly. "Thanks for the names, Hua Po, but I know all about this structure. Ugh, I've got such a headache from this place, but the magatama."
"I'll help however I can," she said, although she was disappointed that he could simply know about this place by walking in. But he did still need help in battle, so that had to count in her favor.
"Is there a room you can rest in around here?" Pixie said. "We could see what the shop's asking for with the magatamas, but the fountain lady won't let you nap at her place."
Pointing vaguely upstairs, Demi nodded and headed for the store. It was a tiny place with a mess of boxed and bagged snacks for humans. On the small counter, a jack frost was waiting on them. "Hee ho hello there!" he said cheerily. "I'm Heeho the Frost, welcome to my store!"
"You're running this junk shop?" Hua Po asked skeptically. The jacks like pyro jacks and this jack frost were cute, but she'd not admit to that when they considered themselves fairies. They'd be better suited as jirae in her opinion.
"Of course, ho!" Heeho said, swinging his feet off the counter. "I'm going on an adventure to become really cool and strong, just like the Emperor! But I need money first, so I'm selling some stuff I picked up. I've got more medicine than I need, and some of these foods are pretty tasty."
"I'm interested in your magatama," Demi said, slowly like he was trying to hold himself back.
"The hee-whats-its?" he asked, looking up at a shelf where he had the wares he'd brought in displayed.
He pointed out the closed plastic bin that had a label for being an ant farm. "Those bugs."
"Oh yeah, them!" Heeho got on his feet and went to take the bin down. "I found one walking around outside, then found the other in here when I looked for a shop spot. They've got some kind of power to them, but I have no heei-dea how to unlock it. Ho, and one's scarier than the other, so I want two thousand macca for the not scary one and four thousand macca for the scary one."
While Hua Po didn't see a difference, Demi nodded. "The fire one's more expensive? Fine, I think I've gathered that much." When Heeho went to take the lid off, Demi quickly put a hand on his shoulder. "No, n-not yet. I'll, I'll take the container too."
"Hmm, h'okay, if that's how you want them." Heeho didn't say he'd charge extra for the container, but Demi still passed over six thousand five hundred macca for it.
Once they were out of the shop, Hua Po said, "Wow, you've got some restraint to not take them out right away."
"I want to, but let's get upstairs where I can rest first," Demi said. He was weird in some ways, but the potential he had for power and influence among demons could be greater than Hua Po had guessed at first. That made it very tempting to stick by his side even if Pixie stayed along as well.