A/N: Hey everyone, The Azure Guardian here. And welcome to Chapter 4 of InuYasha: Resonance! And this time it only took me about 2 and a half weeks to finish. I've been on a bit of a roll with this story since finally finishing Chapter 3 and am currently working on Chapter 5 as this chapter goes up. By the way, huge thank you to my editor for suggesting I make this its own chapter, originally I wanted it to be the second half of Chapter 3 but looking back at it and seeing what's here, not only would the chapter have been doubled in length but it would have felt like a bit much considering what's covered in each. Anyway, this chapter we have Michiru getting properly settled in to Seireigo and going on his first mission, which lets me show off how the organization functions as well as show off Janis' abilities in combat.
WARNING!: Butt stuff happens in this chapter! That is all the hint you're going to get! This story is still rated T!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own InuYasha, it is the proud property of Rumiko Takahashi and without her, we never would have gotten The Secret of the Cursed Mask for PS2!
Over the next few days, after receiving the supplies he'd need for his role at Seireigo, Michiru would head to the organization's headquarters after school. When asked where he was going by his friends, the boy would tell them his father had started sending him on errands for the family shrine. But when asked by his parents why he's been arriving home so late, he'd made an excuse that he had been asked to join a club at school focused on running spiritual studies and investigations and figured it might help with his duties at the shrine.
Whenever he was at Seireigo, Michiru would be undergoing some basic training, which would include practicing tai chi as a form of meditation at Akihiko's suggestion, who stated that since the martial art was based on the philosophy of controlling the flow of yin and yang - which was a core principle of onmyoudo - that it should benefit the teen in focusing and controlling his power. As well, Michiru would be practicing calligraphy in order to make his own ofuda talismans, remembering what Rika Furude said about them acting as a medium to channel his magic through. In particular, he would attempt to recreate the talismans he remembered Kakuju giving to Miroku during his journey, recalling that she had enhanced them with her own magic so they would be of better use to the group. During all of this, Miriko would be nearby, watching Michiru from around various corners. But Kurama would strangely be close by as well, as if watching over the young onmyouji.
Then, one night in downtown Tokyo…
A pair of high school girls were walking down the street, chatting and laughing together over the events of their day. As they walked by a certain alley, however…
"Pardon me…" an elderly male voice spoke out from the alley, catching the attention of the young women. "I've misplaced my glasses and can't see very well… Would someone be kind enough to help me find them? I can give you money…"
At the mention of a monetary reward, the girls glanced at each other and shrugged before walking into the alley… only for them both to suddenly shriek in fear a few moments later.
The following day, Michiru would be at Seireigo HQ after school like he had been doing over the course of the week. His time at the organization would be split between doing his tai chi meditations in one of the Physical training rooms, using his basic onmyoudo magic on training dummies in one of the Ranged training rooms, creating his ofuda talismans and improving his calligraphy, and doing his homework from school with some of the other student members, including Janis. This day, while doing his meditations, Michiru would be approached by a senior member of Seireigo designated as a Squad Leader.
"Excuse me, Kururugi?" the older man would call out, causing the teen to stop what he was doing and give a respectful bow.
"Yes, that's me."
"You're being called for assignment," the Squad Leader ordered. "Come with me."
As the man turned and made his way out of the room, it took Michiru a moment to process what he meant by "assignment".
"Ah, right!"
The young onymouji would jog to catch up with the Squad Leader.
"What's the assignment?" he asked.
"You'll be briefed en route," was the only answer he was given. "This is your first mission, so be on your best behavior and show us what you can do in the field."
Michiru would follow the Squad Leader out of the building and to the parkade. Upon being told which of the black vans to head to, he would approach the assigned vehicle and spot a familiar blonde girl mixed in with a small group by the back doors. She had a fairly large navy blue shinai bag with sakura petal designs strapped to her back
"Janis?"
Upon hearing her name mentioned, the American girl would turn her attention to the source and smile.
"Hey, Michiru!" she would call out, stepping away from the group to meet him. "Looks like we'll be in the same group, huh?"
"Seems like it…" he responded as he looked at the other members just chatting amongst themselves.
Janis would giggle slightly, "Don't worry, you'll get used to this. Not a lot of Combat types, so it shouldn't be too difficult of a mission. Perfect chance for you to experience what we do."
"Alright everyone, hop in! We're moving out!" a voice rang out.
The back doors of the van opened and everyone climbed inside, sitting wherever was available. Once the doors closed, the vehicle pulled out of the parkade to leave with three others. As they headed to their destination, the Squad Leader stood up and looked over everyone.
"Alright, time for your briefing!" he announced. "Earlier today we picked up a report of a possible demon encounter occurring last night downtown. The report came from one of the victims, a High School student who said she and her friend were harassed by, and I quote, "a freak of an old man"."
"You sure it was a demon, sir?" one of the organization members asked skeptically. "Sounds like they were approached by some perverted old coot."
"That's what we thought at first as well, but then she was asked to describe the old man," the Squad Leader continued. "She said he didn't have a face and, I quote, "had an eyeball in the middle of his butt"."
A look of disgust fell over the faces of some of the members while some of the guys started chuckling in amusement. Michiru and Janis were among the former.
"They encountered this individual in an alleyway, so we can assume it's using them as a means to stay hidden and watch for potential targets. Since neither of the girls were harmed aside from being mentally scarred from the ordeal, we likely assume this demon has no combat abilities. Still, it's best to have some manner of safety. Everyone will be separated into teams of two, both to make it easier to locate the demon and based on the report we can assume it won't show itself to large numbers."
"Excuse me!" Janis called out as he raised her hand.
"Yes, what is it?"
She would then point to Michiru, "Since Michiru here's new, is it alright if he partners with me?"
The Squad Leader would glance at Michiru, "Sure, that's fine."
At the confirmation, Janis and Michiru looked at each other with Janis flashing him a smile.
The Squad Leader's radio would suddenly crackle to life, "We're pulling up on our destination. Take your positions."
"Alright everyone, once the barrier goes up we get to work! Remember: Keep a lookout for your partner and keep an eye out! We don't know the full extent of this demon's capabilities!" the Squad Leader barked out to everyone.
"Sir!" all of the members said back in unison.
The vehicle slowed to a stop and Michiru sensed a barrier being projected from the front of the van. A few seconds later the radio crackled to life again.
"Barrier is deployed. Begin operation."
"Move out!" The Squad Leader commanded as the van's back doors swung open and everyone started exiting.
Once everyone was out of the vehicle, they started breaking off into teams of two and wandered off in different directions. Janis stayed with Michiru as she had requested.
"Well, shall we get going?" the American girl asked before walking off.
"Ah, right!" Michiru followed after her.
As the two walked down the street and past the various buildings, Michiru noticed something very off… There were no other people to be seen, which shouldn't be possible for downtown Tokyo.
"So uh… What's up with all of… this?" the boy asked as he looked around.
"Hm? Oh, did no one tell you about the barrier?" Janis asked, to which Michiru shook his head. "Okay, so… You know about the Four Guardians?"
"Four Guardians?" Michiru repeated. "Oh, you mean Seiryuu, Suzaku, Byakko, and Genbu?"
"Yeah, those guys," Janis nodded. "And you know how each of them corresponds to one of the cardinal directions?" Michiru would nod. "Well it turns out that by projecting a barrier from each of those directions and having them meet causes some kind of distortion. Any demons, spirits, and people who have awakened to the spiritual world get locked inside until the barrier is taken down."
"What about everyone else? What happens to them?"
"Funny enough? Nothing," Janis answered plainly. "Everything within the barrier is pretty much in another dimension of existence that occupies the same space. People without spiritual awareness are completely unaffected by it. In fact, we're technically walking through people right now."
Michiru's eyes widened in surprise and concern as he began to pat his hands over his body in a panic. This resulted in Janis giggling in amusement.
"Relax, you're fine. Nothing we do in here will have an effect on the outside and nothing on the other side of the barrier can enter here," she explained. "Well, except for any demons, spirits, or other awakened people accidentally stumbling in."
"Huh… So there's no way out other than dropping the barrier?"
"Well… Apparently a strong enough demon can force its way out, but we've only had one instance of that so far…"
Michiru's thoughts went back to the boar demon he had fought, Nago, and how Ms. Furude has said he had managed to get away from Sakutaro. The young man couldn't help but feel conflicted on the matter.
(Wait, so that's their bar for "strong demons"? Now I'm starting to wonder just how strong these guys really are if that boar was the strongest thing they went up against and it broke out of their barrier…) Michiru thought as he recalled how easily he was able to handle himself against Nago before Sakutaro and the other Seireigo members arrived, leading to him being severely injured from the distraction.
"Well, now I have a question for you…" Janis paused, pulling Michiru's attention back. "You got a girlfriend?"
"H-Huh?!" the boy was taken completely off guard by the change of subject, causing him to stop in his tracks as his face turned bright red.
The American turned around to face Michiru and let out a laugh at his reaction, "You should see the look on your face!"
"Wh-Why are you asking me that?!"
"You asked a question, so I should get to ask one in return."
"I didn't ask anything personal, though!"
"No, but there really isn't anything else I can ask you without getting personal, so I figured I'd push the biggest button."
Michiru let out a sigh as the colour of his face returned to normal, "You really are an American…"
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Janis asked, faking being offended. "So? Out with it…"
The boy just stood there, averted his gaze and rubbed the back of his neck, "Not… really. It's a bit complicated, I think…"
She raised an eyebrow curiously, "Okay, I think that deserves an explanation. What's up?"
"Well… there is this girl I like…" he answered slowly, his gaze moving around but never focusing on Janis. "But I don't know if she likes me, at least not the same way…"
"Have you even asked her?"
"U-Uh… no… She already has these two other guys who like her and I think she has feelings for one of them already…"
Janis sucked in air through her teeth, "That definitely complicates things. Have you tried confessing to her?"
His cheeks turned a bright red at her question and he slowly nodded, "I… tried, but I don't know if she heard me. I didn't get to catch her reaction and she never brought it up when I met up with her after that. And I don't know if I'm mentally prepared to try again…"
(Poor guy…) She thought. "Well, it does seem like you have quite the competition, but all you have to do then is ask her if she heard you. If she didn't, just force yourself to confess again. Yell it if you have to."
Michiru's face returned to its normal colour again as he gave the girl an incredulous look.
("Just force yourself" she says… That really does sound like the American thing…) He let out a sigh. "I'll… think about it."
Janis just shrugged her shoulders, "Well if that's what you think is best, just don't take too long. Stuff like this, it's best to get it over with quickly, like ripping off a bandage. If you keep sitting on it, it'll only hurt more if she ends up picking someone else while you think you still have a chance. The sooner you ask, the sooner you'll have your answer and the sooner you can move on based on that answer."
"You… might have a point," he relented before walking to catch up with his partner and the two continued their patrol down the street. "But since you asked me… do you have someone you like?"
"H-Hey, you can't just ask me that!"
"Why not? You just asked me the same thing. Fair's fair, right?"
Janis puffed her cheeks and pouted as she looked at the boy like she just got caught making trouble before relaxing, "Well… there is this guy…"
"You've talked to him?"
"Oh, plenty of times! Well, whenever he feels like responding, anyway…"
"What's he like?"
"He's pretty quiet, keeps to himself mostly… Though it's kind of weird considering how often he's around others. But he has this presence about him that's just so cool."
(Hm… If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think she was describing Sesshomaru…) Michiru thought to himself. (Wait a minute…) "Are you… talking about Kurama?"
Janis' body tensed up almost immediately as her face turned red, "H-How did you know?!"
"He's the only one I've been around who even remotely matches that description," he answered. "So my range of targets wasn't exactly big."
"P-Please! Don't tell anyone! Especially not him!"
Michiru couldn't help but laugh a little at how desperately she was asking, "Alright, alright. I promise."
Janis let out a sigh of relief, when suddenly…
"Pardon me…" an elderly male voice spoke out.
Michiru and Janis stopped in their tracks and when they looked in the direction the voice came from, they noticed they were walking past an alley.
The elderly voice continued, "I've misplaced my glasses and can't see very well… Would someone be kind enough to help me find them? I can give you money…"
The two teens glanced at each other and nodded before carefully walking into the alley. They noticed a figure but couldn't make out any details aside from them apparently dressed in rags.
"Sure, do you remember where you lost them?" the young man asked.
"Oh, thank you! Yes, I believe it was somewhere around here…" the figure said excitedly as they turned around and walked further into the alley.
"Be careful, Michiru…" Janis warned in a whisper.
"Right…"
The two teenagers slowly followed the figure until they suddenly stopped.
"I think it was somewhere around here…" the figure said.
In preparation for the demon's inevitable attack, Michiru readied himself to start an incantation while Janis reached for the shinai bag on her back.
"Ah! Here it is!" the figure exclaimed and bent forward… only to flip up the bottom of its rags and spread its butt cheeks, revealing a singular eye sticking out of its anus staring right at the teens.
Michiru flinched in disgust while Janis screamed, As loud as it was within the otherwise quiet barrier, every other member of Seireigo within hearing distance immediately started running towards the source. The figure the pair had followed immediately started laughing with glee.
"Oh those are some great reactions!" the demon exclaimed. "I was wondering why it suddenly got so quiet, but this has been so much fun!"
"You think that's funny…?" Janis asked slowly, showing her anger and disgust as she pulled her shinai from her back and from it revealed a naginata with a red shaft and a silver blade, startling the demon. "That was absolutely disgusting you freak! Michiru, let's get this thing!"
"R-right!"
"Ah! W-w-wait!" the demon tried talking to the teens in an attempt to defend itself, only to shriek as it jumped back to barely avoid the swing of Janis' weapon hitting the ground.
The demon scrambled across the ground, running along the wall to avoid the pair of humans only to run out of the alley and took off down the street.
"After it!"
Janis immediately chased after the creature after shouting her order with Michiru running after her. As the two followed after the creature, it continued to scream in fear.
"Shikigami, attack!" Michiru called out, throwing the ball of condensed magic at the demon.
The creature bent forward to see its pursuers from the eyeball in its butt, grossing out the teens while it yelped as it dodged the boy's attack.
"You won't get away!" Janis called out as she reached an arm out towards the demon. "Answer me, kamuitama! Lightning Arrows!"
Electricity coursed around the girl's arm before rising into the air before floating up above her and taking the shape of multiple arrows made of lightning. Without further command, the arrows began firing at the demon who continued to just barely evade being struck.
"He sure is a slippery one!" Michiru pointed out.
"It's too fast! We need some way to corner it!" Janis noted with frustration in her voice.
As the two chased the demon it turned down a corner… only to immediately run back out screaming as several explosions of spiritual and demonic power erupted from behind it, causing Janis and Michiru to stop as the demon headed back for them.
"Answer me, kamuitama!" Janis called out as she raised her right hand into the air, fire surrounding her arm before disappearing only for eight fireballs roughly the size of her head manifested above her. "Infernal Meteors!"
The girl quickly swung her arm down and the fireballs sped towards the demon, causing it to skid to a stop and jump back to avoid getting hit by the flames. But when the last one missed, the demon would find itself surrounded by every Seireigo member on the mission with Michiru and Janis jogging to meet up with the group. Realizing it had nowhere to go, the demon collapsed to the ground and prostrated itself, pressing its forehead to the pavement.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt anyone! I was just doing it for laughs!" the demon pathetically pleaded.
"For laughs?!" Janis snapped. "What you've been doing is disgusting!"
"It's literally all I do!" the demon snapped back, it probably would have been crying if it had an actual face. "I'm not strong! And I don't have any power! This is all I have to entertain myself!"
"Still, you had to have known we'd find out eventually if you kept doing it…" one of the Seireigo members pointed out.
"We'd find out…?" the demon repeated before gasping in fear and attempting to press its face further into the ground. "Y-y-you're from Y-y-yokusei, aren't you?! P-p-please don't k-k-kill me!"
"This is pathetic…" another member sighed in annoyance. "We're not going to kill you if you agree to come with us peacefully. We can give you a place to stay and live out your life without becoming a nuisance to the general public."
"R-r-really?"
The demon pressed its hands against the ground… and pushed itself into a handstand as it spread its legs and the eyeball in its butt shone with a bright light. All the present members of Seireigo had to cover their eyes to avoid being blinded while the trouble-making demon laughed loudly.
"What fools! As if I'd agree to give up scaring humans!" the demon shouted as it proceeded to jump over the Seireigo members to make its escape.
"Oh overflowing blue sky!" Michiru suddenly started to quickly chant, the familiar red star-shaped pentagram appearing beneath his feet as his body started to glow green. "Bind these evil demons!"
The boy threw his arms toward the demon, his fingers spread, as tendrils of green magical energy shot forth from his fingertips and coiled around the creature, causing it to trip and fall to the ground unable to move.
"L-l-let me go!" the demon cried out, stopping when the Seireigo members surrounded it again. "C-c-can we talk about this?"
After binding the demon's arms and legs, the members of Seireigo would carry the creature to one of the vans as everyone made their way to their respective Squad Leaders. Michiru and Janis ended up trailing behind their group slightly.
"Hey, nice reacting to that," Janis praised her partner. "If you hadn't pulled that one out, we'd probably be chasing him around the entire barrier."
"Ah, thanks. I actually planned to use that one from the beginning, I was just caught off guard when he took off the first time," Michiru explained. "But you were pretty impressive yourself. What was it you called it? Kamuitama?"
"Oh, that? Yeah, it's my spiritual power. Ms. Furude was the one who named it."
"You're American though, how did you end up awakening to it?"
"Funny thing about that, I started awakening to it after I first moved to Japan. I don't really know why or how, but it's useful."
"It's definitely pretty cool to watch."
"Isn't it?" Janis said with a smile.
The two eventually returned to their Squad's van and once everyone was inside the barrier was dropped and all four vehicles made their way back to headquarters. On the ride back, everyone was told the demon was called a Shirime, a demon whose sole existence was based around scaring people by showing the eyeball in its butt. Of course, this information grossed out a few of the members with some noting how varied demons could be and a few others wondering why such a disgusting demon existed. Once the vans arrived back in the parkade and everyone entered the building - with the Shirime being taken to have a living space registered - Michiru started to think to himself.
(The demon itself aside, I don't think that was too bad. I might be able to get used to this, actually.) But as he thought, his mind went back to the real reason why he agreed to join the organization. (Wait, I can't become too complacent. I need to learn more about my power… See if it has an answer for me to get back…)
Michiru then recalled something Janis said when she gave him the tour of the building a few days back.
"We store any spiritual or demonic artifacts here as well as books and scrolls on spiritual practices…"
Without another thought, Michiru made his way to the elevator and took it up to the second floor. When he reached the resources room, he gently knocked on the door. After almost a minute, Naho Saenoki opened the door and looked at the boy with her dead eyes.
"What do you need?" the curator asked, her voice as monotone as the boy remembered.
"Uh, right… I'm wondering if you have anything on onmyoudo I might be able to borrow?" he answered. "For study."
Naho just stared at Michiru unblinkingly for a moment before opening the door wider, "I will show you where they are kept, but please make it quick."
(This is it… Here's hoping I can find what I need…) the young onmyouji thought to himself as he stepped into the room.
Michiru's Shikigami:
• Wind Element: Crow - When invoking a spell meant to debilitate foes, cure/nullify poisons, or destroy barriers, Michiru invokes the element of Wind which briefly calls forth a familiar that resembles a crow.
Technique:
• Binding Blue Sky: "Oh overflowing blue sky! Bind these evil demons!", a spell cast by invoking a Shikigami of Wind that restrains a target, limiting its movement. (This spell is originally exclusive to Kaname Kururugi, the girl playable character from the game, but figured Michiru could do with an expanded arsenal of spells)