A Requiem For Hate: Chapter 3
Your pov: Toguro Ani kept bugging you. The little shit just wouldn't leave you alone. Karasu found it highly entertaining and kept helping him.
"What are you anyway? I've never seen a demon like you before." You were walking on your own two feet and the smaller demon was perched on your shoulders. If something didn't shut him up soon you were going to Kebab him with some random stick you found on the road.
Actually that thought was amusing, and tempting.
Akira was curious as to your species as well. "Thats a good question. You have never told anyone before." Toguro Ani started to nag you about it.
"Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!" After almost half an hour you were at your wits end.
You chuck the small demon to the ground hard enough something cracks. "Leave me the fuck alone already!!" You snarl and continue along the road. Toguro Ani perches on his younger brother's shoulder and starts nagging you again. Toguro Ototo had obviously heard enough as well though.
"Brother ... save it for later." The little demon growls in aggravation and starts to pester Karasu.
"Hey Karasu! What was it like to get beat up by a girl?" Karasu gives Toguro Ani such a look.
"Listen Ani. When some bitch hits you between the legs, I'll laugh my ass off while you roll on the ground in pain!" Toguro Ani just laughs. You snort.
"Did Karasu roll when I kicked him there?" Seeing a chance to piss the demon bomber off even more Toguro Ani sneers.
"No, he curled up like a child when a mother takes away a toy. I think there were even a few tears." Karasu yanks Toguro Ani down to his eye level with a snarl.
"I did not curl up or cry, so mind you own damn business you pathetic piece of-"
"Oh look Akira their having a lovers spat." The fox demon and Bui choke. Toguro Ototo remains silent doing his best to ignore the entire conversation. Karasu abruptly drops the small demon and glares at you.
"Lovers? I despise him." You nod.
"So your admitting that you like guys..." He snarls.
"I am not. I'm simply stating why I would never even consider it."
"Right ... me thinks, you like him." You have a smug smile on your face.
"I do not."
"Your lying."
"I am not."
"Have any proof?"
"Do I have to rape you to get a point across?"
"No thank you, I don't play that way."
"Oh, your into that whole love thing?"
"No, I'm celibate."
"I'm willing to bet its because you can't get any."
"Why would I want any at all? There's more to life than getting laid."
Akira decides to interrupt your little argument. "Can we please just drop the entire conversation and continue on our way?" The rest of the group seems to agree.
You arrive at some type of company building. Your a little confused.
"Uh ... Why are we here?" Karasu sighs.
"This is Where Sakyo works. He own our team." You grumble a few foul words and follow them inside.
There was an elevator but Toguro Ototo insisted on taking the stairs. Not that you minded, it was just time consuming.
When you reached the top the Toguro went to inform their boss of progress. While everyone else went the other way.
Bui enlists Akira into running a few errands much to his displeasure leaving you with Karasu.
"So ... you guys live here?"
"Yeah, you could say that. At least until after the Dark Tournament." You nod.
"Where did you live?" You shrug.
"We were traveling fighters for hire originally, so nowhere."
"What do you mean by 'originally'?"
"I only work with Akira, our other team mates hired us to fill the slates so to speak. Not really meant for tournaments." Karasu nods. "What about you?"
"Eh, I don't generally work with others. I was just sort of 'enlisted' by Toguro." You nod.
"Know anything about that Bui guy? I haven't even heard him talk."
"No, nothing. You'll probably get along with him best though. He's quiet and he normally just minds his own business." You nod.
Toguro Ani returns.
"Better find a place to sleep Akuma, the Dark Tournament is only two months away. You'll be with us until thats over." You grumble calling him few colorful names before wandering off. He was definitely right though you hated to admit it.
The rooms were labeled with the names of your new team mates as you went down the hall. There were a few un labeled ones left. You take the one at the end of the hall. The empty one on the left would probably go to Akira and Bui was right across from you. The room was plain grayish white and probably was originally meant as an office. A bed was placed under the window, a set of drawers was across from that. Otherwise the room was bare.
You look around again then investigate the set of drawers.
As you expected empty with the exception of a blank name card. A little dusty but that wasn't a problem.
"You carve your name on the name plate and put it on your door." You look up.
Bui was standing in the door way. He tosses you a bag.
"Akira went to your old place and brought some of your stuff back." You nod.
"Thanks." He leaves.
You set the bag down and use your claws to crudely carve your name into the plastic name plate before putting it on your door.
Inside the bag you found a few out fits, some essentials, and a bunch of your talismans.
'Akira must have raided some of Sarukai's things. I don't own many outfits.' The idea of wearing a dead tanuki's outfits sort of scared you, but they were clean and she probably hadn't worn them in a long time. It wasn't near revealing enough for her tastes.
You put the items away and venture out.
It was quiet, you were will to bet that Akira was in his room right now. you explore a bit. The entire floor was pretty barren. By looking out a window you calculated yourself to be on the seventh floor. There wasn't a whole lot honestly.
Soon you can tell the sun is setting. You head back to your room dreading when night had fully settled. You stare out the window watching as the fiery orb sunk below the horizon. You room went from rich orangish red, to purple, then blue, and finally completely darkness.
The skin on your back twitched a little. You sink to your knees as the first wave of pain washes over you.
Small sickening pops and crunches come from your back. You grit your teeth dealing with the pain.
The sounds grow louder accompanied by the sound of ripping flesh and cloth.
Blood soaked feathers fall in clumps on the floor as you began ripping at the crimson wings that were emerging from your back.
The scent of blood was so heavy in the air you could choke someone with it.
There's a loud sickening crack as you snap one of the wings off. Five were left.
The wing hits the floor with a loud thud.
You grip the base of the next one firmly ready to rip that one away next.
Usually you asked Akira to hack them away with his sword, but you couldn't risk someone seeing them.
Another wing hit the floor. Four more to go.
The moon was up over the trees making moonlight shine through the window down on you.
The pale flesh of your back almost seemed to glow, the crimson streams and splatters made a striking contrast. Just as your ripping away the third wing your door opens.
You look up, Karasu was standing there.
He seemed to be taking in the scene like an artist does a new piece of work.
You rip away the wing with a little more force aided by your anger. Then you chuck it at his feet.
"Get out!" Those two words came out laced with enough venom to make a cobra proud.
Karasu simply shuts the door and circles around you. Occasionally he runs a hand through the bloody feathers of the remaining wings. You jerk your wings away whenever he did that.
He suddenly grabs one digging his fingers into the feathered flesh. Blood oozes around his fingers and trickles down toward your back. It doesn't bother you at all which seemed to surprise you.
You growl at him.
"This doesn't even seem to phase you." He rips the wing away. You can feel the tendons and muscles rip and bone snap and break. He tosses the wing away.
You smirk. "And you just did me a favor."
He hauls you to your feet.
"I've heard about you. Most describe you as an angel with the heart of a devil. A fallen angel with six wings, or are you a half breed? Sired by demon with an angelic mother?" You laugh for a minute then grab him by the hair and force him away from you.
"Close guess, so I guess I'll indulge you curiosity. Yes I'm the half breed. Just you have it the wrong way around. I'm a bastard child sired by an angel with demoness as my mother. If my father knew that he had gotten my mother pregnant with twins he would have been more careful." Karasu raises an eyebrow.
"Twins? Do you have a sibling somewhere?" You shake your head.
"No, he killed my mother and my sister. Luckily my uncle took me in and raised me with my cousins. I'm only in contact with one of them anymore and he's probably asleep in the room next to us." Karasu's eyes widen in surprise.
"Akira is your cousin?!" You nod.
"Closest thing I have to a brother in the whole wide world."
"So your half angel and half kitsune." You nod.
"You don't see a whole lot of my kitsune side with the exception of my claws."
"You hardly look like angel either."
"Eh, so they sort of canceled each other out. Now you know what I am, happy?" Karasu runs his hands along your remaining wings.
"Was daddy an arch angel, or is this just an effect of age like kitsune tails?" He was getting annoying.
"Effect, my father was just a soldier. Now if you don't mind I'd like to rip the remaining wings off." Karasu grabs both wings and rips them away in a fluid motion.
"Now how do you plan to explain this mess?"
"It will vanish when the sun rises. If I didn't get rid of the wings before sun rise they would stay until the next day rotting. Angel wings never stay fresh long in the demon world. Any other questions?"
"Why did you wear all those talismans?"
"I have my reasons." The truth of that matter was you were just coming out of a heat cycle and you had needed to keep your aura and scent down as much as possible.
Best method for that was a lot of layers and as many wards and talismans as possible. The layers were something you usually wore. But the talismans were a new touch just for the tournament.
Luckily by the time the fire demon had burned them away you were mostly through it. That saved you the trouble of getting someone to take them off. Once on a demon they couldn't be removed by the demon.
"I'll find out at a later date. Sleep well." He left the room carefully shutting the door behind him.
You snarl now that he's gone. That demon bomber angered you so much.
The Next Day:
Your sitting in an office withe rest of the team.
You were a little foul tempered, you hadn't slept well and your back wasn't healing up right for some reason.
Akira could smell blood and occasionally shot you a worried glance.
After a nice long talk with the team owner Sakyo the team was permitted to go out for a bit.
As you left the office Akira walked up next to you.
"Maybe you should stay in today Akuma."
"He's right Tenshi(Angel). Wouldn't want you to get sick." You growled at him.
Toguro Ani jumped onto your back only to be greeted by a long string of curses and getting chucked into a wall.
Karasu pulled a chunk of you shirt down in the back ignoring the fact that you were trying to hit him.
"Somehow I knew that wouldn't heal right." Toguro Ototo looks at the exposed chunk of your back and lets out a low whistle.
"What happened there?" Toguro Ani jumps onto Toguro Ototo's shoulder so he could see.
"It looks like she skinned her own back." You growl again. They all ignore it. Bui speaks up.
"It would probably be best if she stayed inside today. She can always go out tomarrow." Karasu nods.
Fifteen Minutes Later:
Your laying belly down on the floor on the floor while Akira is smearing an herbal paste on your raw back.
Bui had prepared it for you before he left. It stung like hell for the first minutes but then it went numb.
Akira finishes applying the paste and turns to leave.
"Get some sleep. It will help your back will heal better." He shuts the door quietly behind him.
Taking his advice you doze off into the dark realm of a dreamless sleep.