-It's so rare for us to have guests, explained the Admiral as he led Sougo to what seemed to be his office.
-Don't worry about me, shrugged the Captain, I'm just here for the job
-And what brings you here?
-I'm sure you're aware that just like the anti-Amanto factions, anti-Bakufu ones also exist, right?
-Hmpf! Those scums are nothing but losers that can't live with time!
Sougo ignored the Amanto's comment and pursued with his story.
-Of course, I don't need to tell you that our recent alliance brought many more displeased people. The real problem is that they keep growing. One particular group has become really disturbing lately and the Shogun can't afford to let such ronins tarnish his greatness. I'm sure you wouldn't either, right, Admiral Abo?
-I don't like to meddle with petty livings, but you're certainly right, indeed.
-We happened to arrest all the members of that terrorist group. All but their leader, he clarified.
-How unfortunate.
-By chance, we managed to follow him and the ship he used to flee… that red one I just saw earlier.
-Wh-What do you mean? Sweated the Amanto.
-How is it that a common enemy of us was on board of a ship with the Harusame brand on it…?
-Well, that red ship you're talking about is the one of the seventh division. We discovered not long ago that they were involved in many 'dirty' businesses and thus considered as traitors. I assume they were probably working hand in hand with the one you're looking for… Justified Abo.
-Traitors? Chimed Sougo.
-Yes, their Captain will be publicly executed today. Would you like to assist, perhaps? You could check and investigate the ship later…
Sougo was young, but not enough to fall into what he knows what a fucking trap.
Assist? What a joke! More like eyeing his own possible fate and joining the culprit's side, yeah! That green Amanto was only trying to scare the shit out of him while buying Takasugi more time to flee...
"Tch! No way in hell I'm gonna fall for that freakin' toad's tricks!"
But Sougo had to keep Abo's attention in order for the China girl to fulfill her own part of the plan...
-I'm sure that'll we be very entertaining… agreed the flaxen-haired.
As she walked toward the control room, Kagura noticed that there were increasingly more guards standing in her way. Unfortunately for them, even if the girl had to fight against the whole world, nothing would stop her in getting back at her brother's side.
When he saw her, the old Yato blinked incredulously, thinking he had some kind of hallucinations.
The redhead knocked out the last guard and stood tall before her colleague.
-Is that how you 'handle things'? Sneered Kagura. You sure are growing old for getting caught up that easily, Abuto…
He laughed nervously. Man, that brat was still as rude and brash as ever, but he never felt so happy to hear her sass!
-Sorry young lady, but I kinda got some 'problem' with my arm, you see~? And as far as I know, you didn't score better in getting back our Captain, am I wrong…?
She smirked, secretly happy she hadn't killed him. Kagura would never admit it, but at some point, she did miss his never-ending complaints.
Just when she wanted to shut his mouth up, the cold and hard metal of a gun barrel tickled her back.
-Seems like you Yatos are quite the tough ones! Snorted a dog-like Amanto.
She clicked her tongue. Guns again? The last ones she had seen had been quite painful to her liking...
Although Yatos' umbrellas could fire bullets like real guns, very few were those who used them in that way. After all, what was the need of firing a bullet from afar when one could crush flesh and bones with his bare hands?
Those kinds of weapons were good for cowards and weak people... but Kagura was neither a coward nor a weakling. Her fists felt like iron and her kicks like steel. Unless in a case of last emergency, never, would she rely on something like this rather than her own strength.
Without moving from an inch of her current spot, she used, once more, her natural agility and lightning speed to bend her back forward until her hands could touch the floor. Stretching her left leg in a graceful vertical split, she sent a powerful uppercut into the dog's jaw with the back of her boots.
As the tall Amanto stumbled backward from the blow, she crouched down and quickly swept his legs away.
The eighth's Captain fell on his ass, letting go of the gun in his fall.
"So easy~" thought the girl before to pick up the weapon.
Then, strongly pressing the cylinder against the Amanto's head, she whispered in his fluffy ear.
-Yato or not, only the strong ones survive in this world~
Enjoying the slight twitch of his pointy ear at each word she voiced, she slowly stressed her next ones.
-Did you know that I took no less than seven damn bullets, Captain Gourou~? It completely ruined my new dress! But… I wonder how many bullets you could take before dying~
-W-Wait a minute, sweated the Amanto, I-I was only following Abo's orders! You know that, r-right?!
-Oh, sure~! She reassured. And I find your loyalty quite commendable, to be honest
-R-Really? Ha Ha ha~ Actually, I've always admired you and Kamui, you know?
-Heeeeh~ is that so~?
-Y-YEAH! You two did a great job with the whole 7th division and—
-And you betrayed us all… she growled.
-N-No! That's—
*click* She took off the gun's security.
-I can't forgive traitors, she spat.
The Amanto gulped.
-This ship is my home and these men are my comrades. Not only did you dare to attack our Captain and pride as the Yato tribe… you also harmed the one dearest to me. Did you seriously think you could steal everything away before getting rid of the troublesome little sister…?
She grinned creepily.
-Do you have some kind of death wish, by chance~?
-Listen! I never wa—
-SHUT UP! She yelled suddenly. Don't play games you're afraid of losing… she hissed in disdain.
Then, she threw the gun away and the Amanto sighed in relief, thinking the girl had chosen to spare his life.
Alas, his grace was short as Kagura bluntly snapped his neck like child's play. The dead body fell while boredom and disgust were written all over her face.
-From now on, the Harusame's eighth division shall be under the seventh's commandment. Any complaints?
Of course, none dared to face the dangerous Yato.
Briefly tilting her head to her old male counterpart, Kagura gestured Abuto to carry out her new announcement. The man didn't have to ask what was going to happen next; her strong gaze told him what he already assumed.
Kamui was locked to a thick pole with heavy cuffs on his wrists. Because he had barely been fed and was drugged every damn day, his body felt both weak and heavy.
Yet, even if he had been in great form, the Yato had no wish to fight anymore. Now that he had lost his everything, he couldn't care less about life.
He vaguely looked around him. The arena they were in -which usually served as a type of coliseum- was so full of Harusame that he supposed his execution to be one of the biggest show since years! Higher in a safe and nice-looking gallery was the Admiral whose hand -now lacking a phalanx- was bandaged.
The redhead snorted a smirk.
"Serves you right, pig"
The numerous executioners standing all around him were all very tall and strong-looking. Could they be Dakinis? Judging from their bodies and horned masks, chances were big. Oddly, the lone one currently standing in front of him -and probably in charge of his punishment- was looking awfully frail and small... but with a very peculiar aura...
What was this feeling?
For a time, Kamui wondered if behind this mask, the red eyes staring at him were those of another Yato. One whose level might well be around his own or Kagura's one.
Ah, whatever.
After all, what was the meaning of strength if it couldn't even protect the things dear to oneself?
Sougo wondered why he was now disguised as one of these monstrous Amanto.
By the way, was none of them even surprised by the more than obvious difference in size between the real executioners and himself?!
"That China girl'd better not mess up!" He laughed nervously in his head, not that eager to fight so many huge aliens all at the same time...
-Look up, he ordered at the Yato in front of him.
When the prisoner glared at him, the girl's words echoed through his head.
"A man looking just like me!"
"Blue eyes, red hair tied in a long braid…"
Man, she didn't lie one bit about that brother of hers! The same pale skin, the same long and flame-colored hair -indeed tied in a braid- and the same gorgeous blue eyes than her -more depressed though. Were they twins?
Okita Sougo was a man 1000% heterosexual. But now that he was facing that male version of her... the officer felt something extremely awkward inside of him. He would never admit it, but if he was himself quite a handsome man, that bishonen in front of him was...
Well, captivating for the least!
Still, Sougo would never trade the luscious curves of a woman like the China girl for the flat chest and muscular figure of a man, even if that one was her spitting image!
Laughing nervously at his unexpected and twisted thoughts, he smirked behind his mask.
-Higher~ he ordered to the Yato.
Kamui blinked when Abo's beheaded body crashed from above.
Looking up to the balcony, his eyes widened, his mouth falling open at this miracle. To say that the Yato was surprised was an understatement.
What is this? He wondered then.
An angel? Some sort of magnificent being under the appearance of his little sister?
Like some kind of war Goddess, the woman above was proudly displaying Abo's head as if divine punishment had fallen on him.
With her foot nonchalantly resting over the railing -and exposing the creamy skin of her godly thighs- she stood stronger and taller than the fiercest fighters Kamui had ever seen.
Looking down on the weak mortal beings in the arena, the young and beautiful creature was dressed in a sparkling white Qipao with the back sheath of her purple umbrella hanging at her waist.
There was no word to describe her fearful yet fascinating beauty, but the deadly silence reigning among the spectators spoke by itself.
She was the epitome of a true pure blood Yato clanswoman.
Because, indeed, if that legendary species of warriors was known for its tremendous fighting abilities and love for battle, what also made those Amantos so peculiar was their physical appearance.
Opposite to the Dakinis who looked like horned demons, Yatos looked like mere yet very attractive humans. The fair and smooth look of their skin was due to their weakness against the sunlight. A trait that could easily discredit the whole breed, but none of them had scars thanks to that healing power of them, which raised Yatos to a rank of almost immortal beings.
Kamui never had faith in anything else than strength itself, but he wondered if perhaps his tribe had some kind of secret deity whom he had never heard of before, because clearly, there was no way that this apparition could be his Kagura nor even real at all.
After all, wasn't his sister's dress red –soiled by her own blood and ripped by bullets- instead of white like a shining armor?
Maybe his hunger was now messing with his brain? Making him see hallucinations? Or was it because he was slowly reaching the end?
Wait. Why would Heavens even bother with unworthy souls anyway?
Certainly, that woman was the Devil itself, luring her preys to attract them more easily into the depths of Hell...
Kagura was standing behind the Admiral Abo.
She blew something in his ear and for a short time, the Amanto's blood ran cold, thinking Death had come for him disguised as the Yato girl. Just the time for his face to twist in fear and already, she had tightly gripped the few hairs he had.
Kagura's hate had never been so strong. Her wish to kill, to destroy, to eradicate, had never been so vivid for her hands to shake. More than ever, her blood boiled under her skin, rushing through her veins so fast that it almost hurt.
It ached even more to know him still alive, but at the same time, it was thrilling to have him at her mercy. Oh yes, it itched her to turn that fucking bastard into a total butchery! But, hell! As if she would risk staining her beautiful dress with his dirty blood!
Like snakes waking up at her command, strong veins popped up on her already tensed muscles. Using all the strength within her body, calling out to the slightest ounce of power she could gather, the Yato snatched Abo's head off, tearing his greenish skin apart.
Relieved yet disgusted, she held her new trophy the farthest she could.
Because Kagura's cold-blooded revenge knew no limits, she bluntly kicked –as if the worst trash ever- the headless body for it to fall above the railing and crash a few meters lower in a bloody splat.
Exposing its dripping head to the crowd below, she knew she had caught everyone's attention.
-I, Kagura, Vice-Captain of both the seventh and eighth division just took the Admiral's head with my hands! Thereby I shall become the new Harusame Admiral!
"Sh-She killed Abo!" "The 8th division too?!" "As if we'd let a woman command us!" "Yeah, he's right!" "Kill the woman!" "Kill the traitors!"
Kagura frowned. She knew from the beginning it wouldn't be that easy...
Well, time for plan B, then!
-Yatos of the 7th division! Fellows of the 8th division! She yelled to the crowd below. For our honor and our Captain, FORWARD!
-You heard the damsel?! Shouted Abuto in his turn. ATTACK!
While all the Amantos were clashing ones against the others, Kagura threw Abo's head into the crowd and climbed the fence of the balcony. Watching the fight below her feet, she spotted her beloved Kamui and met his gaze.
It wasn't a simple uproar that Kamui was witnessing with his own eyes, but a real battlefield. He understood the very moment she had spoken that this dazzling goddess, this entrancing devil was none other than the real Kagura herself.
Once again, his little sister had made quite the fuss! But this time, it felt more than welcome and when she looked at him, he couldn't refrain from smirking because he never felt so proud and happy to see his half so alive.
Her heart swelling at the face she had missed so much, Kagura casually let herself drop from her roost to land on one of her brother's executioners. Combining the strength of her powerful thighs and the weight of her fall, she crushed the Dakini's head into the ground with a single blow.
Sougo took advantage of the situation to free the Yato Captain. When he finally took off his heavy mask, the redhead blinked at him.
-You're—
-Okita Sougo, Captain of the Shinsengumi's 1st division.
-An earthling…?!
-I came here on orders from the Princess of the Tokugawa's shogunate to help that sister of yours, he grumbled.
Kamui had to admit that he was really impressed this time. How did the short-tempered Kagura manage to get both the 8th division and the Bakufu on her side just by herself? Did she threaten them or what?!
He laughed to himself at that thought.
Right now, the girl looked like a furious beast and he would have loved to fight alongside her, but because of his current weakness, Kamui could barely stand. Thus, he allowed the human Captain to support him as they retreated from the ongoing battle.
Abo is dead, Kamui is alive, Sougo has turned into an Amanto and Kagura into a Goddess, then a beast.
Okay...
What else you ask?
You'll know in the next chapter!