喰霊－ 零－
Will you kill someone you love, because of love?
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Disclaimer: Segawa Hajime, the creator of Ga-Rei and Kadokawa Shoten, the company that serialises it, own all copyrighted material this fanfiction may include such as characters, events, dialogue, et cetera. However, some of the titles are mine, as are most of the events so hah!
A/N: Sorry for taking so long, but it's updated now! Last time, Yomi discovered what Mei did and viciously assaulted her cousin in vengeance. This severely deviated from the original anime and I hoped presenting Mei in a guilty form was done well. She didn't seem to show much of her human side in the original series, having such a short time to work with, and the only two instances you really got to see her, she was desperately struggling against the Sesshouseki. In my opinion, the reason she gave in to it was due to her conflicted thoughts about Yomi. However, back then, there wasn't much to go on so I expanded Mei's human role to better exemplify it, giving her a guilty conscience, doing wrong in life, taking the two sides of her opinions of Yomi without one of them being nurtured by the stone, and then giving her a breaking point much like Yomi's in the actual series. Whether or not I portrayed it well is up to you, my readers, but I always wanted to see what Mei would feel given the time to acknowledge how destructive her opinions had become. Last chapter, you saw them, the side of her that was jealous and reasoned through her jealousy of Yomi that Yomi was undeserving and an unjust obstacle placed in her path and the other side that understood just how much Yomi had to lose just to enter a new life where no one appreciated her except Naraku. In the original anime, you saw the jealousy and it was made a large part to Mei's tragic character that she couldn't overcome it until the very end and only because Mitogawa was done with her. However, since last chapter already finished with that, this chapter is back to the anime's portrayal, but with obvious changes. Also, as Mei was supposed to be a victim and I characterised her more of the unwitting villain, this chapter should bring both sides together.
Before I get to the reviews, let me also explain this chapter. Last time, when Yomi attacked Mei, she was stopped from finishing the battle, also deviating from the anime. That one event is going to trigger a major difference in how Chapter 6 will play out. Also, I believe it falls more in line with the manga as the Supernatural Countermeasures team weren't the most hospitable of old friends once Yomi returned. Furthermore, it gives Yomi more of a confusion about her next moves. After all, for those who saw the anime, it ended due to Yomi finally gaining clarity on it, but she didn't seem very confused to begin with for me. Also, it seems to conflict with how Yomi is portrayed in the manga so I hope to buffer out those potential bumps.
To Ominae, while I'm not quite the MOD fan that you are, I hope this chapter gives you what you were hoping for. Yes, the MOD are going to be in this chapter as are some key members of the faction. Their interaction in this chapter also sets up something I felt was missing in the anime, too, something I couldn't completely reason about the first episode of it. I hope you enjoy it. (Also, there's that other item, let's just call it an Easter egg until the end.)
To MaesLawliet, Mitogawa struck me as a good villain, as well, and I wanted to exemplify his cruelty further, so again, this chapter will hope to accomplish that. Speaking of which, Yomi striking first is one of the changes that I hope will bring the anime prequel and the manga closer together. It takes a rather evil person to brutalise a defenceless foe, doesn't it? And it is time for the Sesshouseki so I hope I've given you a good enough demonstration of its power and thrall.
復讐行方－ふくしゅうのゆくえ－
GAREI -ZERO- episode 08
"Yomi is hereby suspended until further notice." The chief stated in a stern voice.
Yomi dragged her feet through the empty halls of her abandoned home. She had gone to seek refuge there knowing she couldn't go back to the Isayama residence. Very few people knew about the location and it figured most of the ones who knew had forgotten about it by now. It was a place she could belong; after all, she'd lost anything that made her matter.
"That's not enough! She should be hunted down and made to answer for her crimes! It should be obvious why she did what she did!" Yuu screamed, slamming his fist on her desk.
Huddling in a corner of the dilapidated building, Yomi sank her face into her knees as far as she could, hoping her blanketing hair might hide her from the world forever. She just didn't have the strength to deal with it anymore.
"Yomi will be brought before the ministry to defend her actions. This does not permit violence towards her. No matter what, you needed Yomi and used her when you wanted. She is the most powerful slayer in the Isayama clan and you know that." The chief retorted.
Tears welled up in her eyes though she fought hard to keep them back. As the first droplets sprinkled onto her legs, she winced and held tighter to them, shutting her eyes tightly in a vain attempt to hold the rest at bay.
"Yomi nearly murdered my daughter and her body is missing. You already know this ties in with a spiritual entity in the form of blue butterflies, which was present when Tsuchimiya-dono's wife was slain. Yomi was present at that event, too." Yuu roared.
"What are you implying?"
"Wretched woman, guilt hath shriveled thy spirit." An eerie voice bellowed, surprising Yomi.
"Yomi was next in line to take leadership of our Isayama family. She must have allied herself with an evil spirit to expedite this and killed Honoured Brother herself. Now, it's taken my daughter to her and who knows how far she'll go to keep my Mei from her proper inheritance. I want Yomi brought to justice at once!" Yuu exclaimed.
Kagura gasped, but she knew there wasn't anything anybody could do about it. Even if they could, it just didn't seem like anybody would considering the compromising situation they had found her in. Yomi was blazing mad with sadistic glee and Mei was helpless. Kagura knew there had to be some reason behind it and it couldn't have been what Yuu believed.
As Yuu left, the chief sighed before asking Kiri to start the search and wheeled over to Kagura. The young girl had been silent the entire time at the ministry and was inconsolable all the while coming back from the warehouse. However, it had been a while and Jinguuji Ayame had always been someone Kagura could talk to so she thought she could try and have Kagura talk to her now.
"Kagura, you should know it will be all fine. We'll find Yomi and we'll get through this together." She told the girl, rubbing her back gently.
Kagura was still silent, her expression vacant and distant. The chief knew she would take it hardest. Isayama Yomi was the closest thing she had to an older sister and had acted as such for the past three years. If what Isayama Yuu said was valid, it meant Yomi had gone rogue and had even gone so far as to torment her victim, an unforgivable act that would warrant her own death. Obviously, a revelation like that would overwhelm such a young girl. Thinking quickly, she ordered the team to take Kagura away and console her as best they could.
"Nabuu will make you laugh." One of the brothers said, patting Kagura's shoulders.
"Nabuu will also make you laugh." The other one said.
Nori started to make his comments, but opted for simply putting a hand over his face and leaning against the wall. Meanwhile, the funny faces the twins were using didn't seem to be too effective. Kazuki noticing this stepped up to aid the struggling brothers and contorted his face into a very strange mixture. His mouth was pulled wide, nostrils flared and pulled up, and he managed to use his remaining fingers to flip his eyelids inside out. Off to the side, both Iwahata and Nori gave out a hapless sigh, the latter hanging his head with a shake.
"Kagura doesn't need this right now!" Iwahata abruptly grumbled, clenching his fist.
As all three of them stopped and turned in his direction, Kagura blinked a few times, traces of tears evident in her eyes despite her trying to hide them. Iwahata immediately approached them, which both Nabuu brothers understood and quickly retreated. Kazuki, unfortunately, was not as aware and continued giving the white Mohawk-haired man his blank confused stare right up to the point where said white Mohawk clasped his large bicep around his neck.
"Kagura, all you need is to look to your bright future. Bad blood and upsetting moments happen, but it's nothing to worry about. Kid, you're not old enough to be angsting for real so pick that chin up and keep going strong!"
While his words were true and should have made the right kind of impact, Nori knew it wasn't what was needed at that moment. Kagura wasn't upset because of something horrible in their line of work. Well, not exactly anyway. It was strange that none of them got it, but Nori knew what Kagura was thinking. Of course, it could be particular to him since both his and Kagura's thoughts fell on the same person and both of them were taking it personally.
"Iwahata, take five and let me have a go." Nori said, walking past the large man while he choked his still captured Kazuki.
"Nori-chan." Kagura uttered, looking up at him.
"C'mon, let's go for a walk. I think some fresh air would do us both some good."
"Tell me what you truly desire." Mei's body lurched as her lips curled into a wicked smile.
Mitogawa revealed the ovular crystal, another Sesshouseki fragment of the Kyuubi, and pressed it against her sunken chest. A bright yet eerie violet light emanated from it and burned her body, scorching each wound she'd gotten from her cousin's vicious attack. Her cracked ribcage pushed back up into place and each of her fractured ribs pressed together and solidified. The cold and pale limbs writhed and shuddered back to life, trembling in horror. Her eyes were pulled back into reforming sockets and her distorted vision blared back to clean and vibrant colour, focusing on the night sky above. Her other senses returned to her one by one, the touch of the cold and damp floor her body had been lying on, the dry stagnant stench of her own formerly decaying flesh, and the taste of her own dried blood crumbling as her tongue lurched back to life. Her ears began to soak in the quiet sounds of the night, though her brain would interpret them much differently than before. Laughter rang in mind, the creatures roaming about the darkness voicing Mei's distorted perception of reality. She saw Yomi a villainous fiend who mocked her for her weakness and took advantage of her guilt. She felt shame at every corner of her surroundings and felt as though every one and every thing saw her to be a joke and a failure.
"What do you desire?" Mitogawa's voice returned, piercing through her solitary thoughts.
"Yomi." Her mouth whispered.
"You still crave the position you lost to her?" He mused, his Sesshouseki glowing.
"Yomi must die!" She mouthed more forcefully, her body tensing as she rose back to her feet, "Die."
"Thou gather thou must die?" The odd man asked, taking a seat near Yomi on a rotten stool.
"Category B, Nurarihyon." Yomi uttered, lifting her head just enough for her eyes to identify the creature taunting her.
"Only a Category B be I? I shan't believe this to be true. You humans and your amusing taxonomies. They rival the musings ye provide with your needlessly complex society."
"What do you want?" Yomi spat, fighting back her tears.
"Oh, but sweet child, tis thy duty to have me subdued. Art thou not a slayer?"
"Leave me alone."
"Foolish sentiment. Thy downfall come not from outward opponents."
"Leave."
The creature rose back to its feet and walked over towards one of the shattered yet still hanging frames on the nearby wall. Yomi knew she would not be rid of his company any time soon, but she knew she didn't have the energy to put up with him either. Lifting her head slightly, she watched his motions, from fixing the frames to tidying the creaking floor. She didn't understand what this thing was doing here as a Nurarihyon's behaviour typically didn't progress this way. They were known to be leaders of the spiritual circles, guiding them toward their duties and niches. They themselves were known to inhabit vacant mansions as master of the house and act as influential humans. This one had the speech patterns of a very traditional honke male and carried on his role as such. However, why was this one staying at her old home, a lowly household, and what was the point of taunting her?
"What are you doing here?" Yomi asked weakly, slowly getting up.
"Fascinating history, would thou not agree?" The Nurarihyon spoke, casually glancing at the empty and broken frames.
"What are you talking about?"
"To think it would come to this painful chapter. Amusing humanity is."
Yomi's frustration overflowed her reservations and she growled, "Enough of you! Why are you here? What is the point of this?"
"If I have not been clear, I find thy race delightfully fulfilling." The creature lightly replied.
Yomi's lips quivered as her sadness and despair overcame her anger and, defeated, she slumped to her knees and tried to fight it back without much effect. Her mind had already been cluttered with recent events, her father's brutal murder, the revelation of who had done the deed, the sickening thoughts and reminders that she had not only promoted the murderous witch, she had also resented herself for disliking her, and then having her most trusted and treasured sister betray her and come to the defence of such an enemy. Now, there was the lingering belief in her own inferiority due to not preventing the previous mentions and how much she had succumbed to them and her inability to exorcise the Category B humouring himself with her grief.
"What happened to me?" She uttered aloud, gaining the attention of her guest.
"What will happen to Yomi?" Kagura cried, burying her face in her hands, the tears flooding from them.
"Nothing will happen to her. The chief might have made a harsh decision about her, but it's to protect her until she can explain what was going on. I won't believe that Yomi would attack somebody out of jealous or selfishness." Nori said, rubbing Kagura's back to soothe her.
The two had walked from the ministry in an arbitrary direction simply to get away from the cumbersome air of it. Even though Nori's goal was to get Kagura not to think about current events and turnouts, he himself had troubling thoughts regarding what was occurring and doubted his seemingly steadfast statements about Yomi's innocence and altruistic motives. The last conversation they had was of greatest concern. Yomi had taken notice of Kagura's amazing growth, but was receiving it with lukewarm sentiment. Yomi's pride was great and she had noted her accomplishments as having required her hard work. Meanwhile, Kagura's skill was prodigious and trumping her own at a rapidly accelerating rate. While Yomi had never been the sort of person to think for herself, much less hinder the development of others, her pride was also very much a part of her personality. If she was pushed in just the right way, Nori believed she could be capable of what she was accused of doing.
"I shouldn't have done that to Yomi. She must think I abandoned her." Kagura's concerns shook Nori from his thoughts.
"Kagura."
"Yomi is like my big sister and was always there for me, but before she even had the chance to explain the situation, I attacked her." The girl said, her voice all but a whimper.
"Yomi was about to kill another person and she was even a slayer. You did the right thing, Kagura. Whatever was going on with Yomi and Mei, Yomi wasn't in full control of herself and you helped stop her from making a bad situation worse."
"But she must think I hate her!"
"Your big sister wouldn't hate you for doing the right thing. She was very upset and confused over what happened to Isayama-dono. If you didn't stop her, she'd only have more to answer for so I'm sure she'll realise that if she hasn't already."
"What if she doesn't, though? She's done everything for me and then I fought against her."
Nori knew that Kagura's concerns were incredibly juvenile, but there was more to the situation that he had stuck on his mind. Why did it have to be Mei? It made the issue much more one-sided against her without any clearly visible justification behind it, not even to him. A random victim on a random mission could've been an honest mistake or a possible enemy or even an act of kindness to end the misery of a dying victim. Having Yomi caught in the middle of brutally killing Mei seemed to only have one likely reason and Nori didn't want to accept it even if he was thinking it.
"Look at you back on your feet." Mitogawa mused.
"This power." She mouthed to herself, her vacant expression glaring out into the distance.
"Is it too much for you? Maybe you were better off put out to pasture." He continued to snicker.
Mei returned those words with an annoyed leer, "I allowed Yomi to take her vengeance for what I did. But, what I did was all because of you!"
Turning to him, she lifted him by his collar as his calm and bemused countenance widened, knowing the success of his ploys. He kissed her hand and caressed it in his hands, loosening her grip on him and pulling her close once his feet were back on the floor. Despite her disgusted look, he smiled with flirtatious eyes and created a swirling swarm of his butterflies around them.
"Your envy has matured and the resulting wrath is exquisite. Please elaborate our next course."
"I want to find some way to set Yomi off balance like I was before. I want to show her how horrible she was when I finally thought to show mercy. She never deserved it, but I made a terrible decision and wanted to atone."
"I feel I should be apologising about now."
"Save it. I can't actually blame you when I'm the one that agreed to your plan. In the end, it was a good method, just without the proper caution to finesse, but I'm sure you already knew that. I don't care anymore. Yomi had her revenge for what I did to Uncle Naraku and then she took it too far. I was ready for her to kill me and avenge her father's honour with my blood, but that never gave her the right to humiliate and abuse me. She saved her honour and that of my uncle's, but she stole more of mine away in doing so. She needs to understand that and needs to learn that I could have crushed her at any time, but was holding back in duty. Then, after I've embarrassed her and she realises how worthless she is, then I'll remove the taint of the Isayama family." Mei exclaimed.
"Hmm, interesting and intriguing idea, my dear. Still, I wonder just how you plan to carry that out."
"If you have a thought, share it. I'm bored with your games."
Snickering again, Mitogawa simply looked her in the eye and shifted his gaze behind her, "Just look."
Suspicious as she was, she did as she was told and looked behind her at the curtain of butterflies. As the numbers thinned out, a shape became evident beyond their sapphire veil. Eventually, the shape began to be identifiable as a human, a human that was carrying something in its right hand. Mei waited impatiently for the big reveal, but knew deep in her mind what surprises from Mitogawa Kazuhiro could mean. Taking one second to glance back at him, she found him with blazing eyes and a Cheshire grin directed at her and shivered. Even having the power of the Sesshouseki now beating in sync with her heart she was unsettled by it. Dread and doubt growing within her warned her that the power was nothing in comparison to his scheming. Part of her knew he could just as easily pluck the stone from her and let her body wither and crumble into dust.
"What-" Mei started to ask, turning her head back to the figure, but stopped herself with a gasp as the last layer of butterflies cleared away.
"How far can your will go?"
Thought initially shocked to see it, Mei soon calmed herself and returned her company's enquiry, "As far as I have to."
Looking back at the figure, she cringed but forced herself to walk to it, "How does my Uncle Naraku fit into this plan? And how did you get his body back?"
Mitogawa's sneer widened further, "In the crematorium. I just needed that one second of silence to have some of my beetle friends retrieve this corpse. As for my plan, shouldn't you say 'our plan'?"
"I did mention how tired I am of your games, right?"
"Yomi's respect and love stems from this man. If we point him against her, she'd feel the same guilt and restraint you felt before and you'll have the fight you desire."
To this, Mei's own lips curled into a smile, "An eye for an eye then? It makes sense. Uncle Naraku was the reason for my own guilt and withholding of my true skill. How fitting it would be to use the same exact cause against her. You've done well, Mitogawa."
"Why are we back here?" Kagura asked her companion as he opened the door to the warehouse.
"I want to be alone." Yomi told the specter.
"But I require an audience." The Nurarihyon stated.
"Find it somewhere else then."
"But what better company be there than thou, slayer?"
The area had been sealed off, but to an agent of the Countermeasures Department, that only meant no crowds. For the first few minutes, Nori occupied himself with searching through the entire structure. He examined each stain of blood, believing them all to have come from Isayama Mei. Two sets of conclusions presented themselves to his mind and he couldn't make a decision as to which he'd rather believe. On the one hand, Mei was probably the culprit. As much as Yomi could be proud and envious, Mei was the poster-child for it. Yomi was too good to admit to it, but it was clear how much Mei resented her. She was the only candidate for promotion before Isayama Naraku discovered and rescued Yomi. Her father undoubtedly filled her thoughts with hatred of being passed over and it didn't seem unlikely she would have done something that could have set Yomi off. However, that was the pleasant outcome Nori wanted to embrace deep within himself and he realised that couldn't be the only outcome. In the end, Mei was a slayer and was professional about her work. Why would she do something harmful to her own cause? Then there was the conversation he had had with Yomi. She seemed bitter about Kagura's development and, proud of her improvement or not, Yomi wanted to be the best for her hard work. With her being replaced in her clan and losing her father, it wasn't that unlikely for her to break and do something she'd regret. If only there was a clear answer.
Yomi struck the spirit harshly with her stiff kick, the Nurarihyon barely blocking it. The next punches and lunges exploded with tremendous sound and displayed her anger vividly. All the while, the creature smiled at her, admiring her strength and grace through such times.
"Thou art exquisite."
"Shut up."
"My priestess, the hatred in thy heart helpest guide my own." He said, taking hold of her hand after another of her strikes.
Yomi's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. Instead, while her body fought hard against the Nurarihyon, her mind recounted the attack. She saw herself from Mei's point-of-view. She felt how terrified her cousin was while she continued her onslaught. Her eyes trailed to her arm and she could feel the sting of her flesh coming apart like Mei's when she sliced off her arm. She shuddered in her step as she thought about the Houkohas she loosed upon her cousin. Every blast, all of the force behind them, the fury of her Ga-rei as they struck Mei again and again and she could only think about the unfortunate truth: She was this thing's priestess. She had crossed the line.
Kagura stared at the scene horrified. The scorches and dents about her reminded her of how she had found her sister, a menacing murderous figure hovering over a helpless and broken slayer. Mei's body was limp and shattered and even knowing that, Yomi wasn't going to stop. The damages spoke to her and taunted her worries. She could hear Yomi's voice whispering to her, telling her how much she enjoyed the pain she produced and relished in the screams and pleas. Tears flowed out from her widened and fearful eyes and the whispers grew louder and echoed all about. She saw Yomi's form a beautiful but dangerous huntress, her many victims mangled and twitching at her feet. In her hand was the severed head of the school nurse. She hadn't gotten over what Yomi did when all this started happening; she hadn't forgotten how unfazed she was about it.
How many had she killed? Granted, they were already dead and possessed by restless evil spirits, but Kagura could make the distinction between mindless creatures and former human beings. She had always been afraid to slay them regardless of being told so many times what they were and, more importantly, what they weren't anymore. Had she become tainted without knowing?
"Priestess, what be thou pondering?" He asked her, catching her fist in his palm.
"Just shut up and leave me alone."
Kagura was strong, stronger than she could ever hope to aspire to and yet, she was unwilling to mutilate human bodies when her duty as a slayer called for it. They were just Akureika, but Kagura could see past their decayed and rabid appearance to the human being they used to be. Maybe a slayer can lose herself by dulling her emotions to this fact and as such become capable of unleashing her full wrath for personal gain. If this was true or not was now immaterial, but Yomi tried humouring herself with those possible alterations to her fate.
"Kagura?" Nori called out when he saw her frozen in place.
The girl had been standing still, her face growing paler as her eyes focused on a single spot in the middle of one of the boxes. Nori looked and examined the surface, but couldn't understand what had captured Kagura's full attention. Concerned, he walked up to her and shook her lightly by the shoulders to bring her out of her daze.
"Oh, Nori-chan. Yomi…" She replied as her eyes directed themselves to him.
"C'mon, Kagura, we aren't going to find anything here that we don't already know." He told her, grabbing her hand and leading her outside.
"Nori-chan."
"If we're going to make any progress, I think we'll need to get our heads together first and that means taking a step back and relaxing. Let's go for a walk."
"Nori-chan…"
"I know what you're thinking about. It's the right subject for sure, but not for right now. We need to help Yomi get over this."
Within the next hour they found themselves out on a dirty road overlooking a lake. Nori leaned against a rusted railing and signaled for Kagura to join him. A light breeze blew through them, the cool air easing the tension in one but causing shivers in the other. Nori used the gentle surroundings to persuade himself of his better hypothesis, of the Mei plot rather than the Yomi defection. Kagura took the chilling currents as a demonstration of the absence she felt in her heart. When she was in danger, her big sister had been there to save her and comfort her. She had not done the same in return and now that comforting and nurturing older sibling was seemingly lost to her. After a spell, they would move on, but the consequence of stopping would not leave them for a while.
"Category C!" One of the Ministry of Defence's special ops exclaimed, cocking his Type 99A Modified Light Machine Gun.
Elsewhere in the city, a minor horde of spirits had begun causing trouble. As the Ministry of the Environment was dealing with other issues, the central government had appointed the Paranormal Disaster Countermeasures Division in their stead. Several units had broken off from the main group and turned towards the next blocks on either side. They were a miniscule nuisance, but could grow in number and still had enough malicious intent to warrant a threat. Recently, there had been increasing reports of such activity from the usual spirits roaming about. Field Commander Sato took a team of fifteen down the main street and sent equal teams of ten to take out the other groups.
"Category D: Koratta! Fire at will!" The sub-commander of the left ordered, exorcising some of the rat-like creatures.
The others opened fire and began exterminating the rest, the rats' numbers falling quickly with the multiple volleys. However, their shadows weren't fading even as they dissolved into the ether and the spirit-seeking visors weren't displaying any unusual signals. Suddenly, there was an explosion nearby. A parked car was tossed into the storefront next to it and the asphalt sunk down to reveal an ovular indent.
On the right side, the Yorunozuku eluded many of the infantry, but the sharpshooter of the team managed to set up her Type 97 Heavy Machine Gun and plowed them all down. Unfortunately, the same result occurred, only the shadows took flight and collected in the sky, darkening it substantially.
"What's happening to them?" One of the men of the main group asked, his bullets dealing barely any damage to the Habunake as they slithered, destroying concrete and cars with every attempt to assault their assailants.
An explosion rang out from the left and right blocks and the few surviving units ran from the flames. One trailer limped out towards the main group, but was quickly retrieved by a thick black claw. The sharpshooter screamed out about a Category B, dragging her limp and bloodied leg as she clung to the crumbling wall of a nearby building. Before she could make it to safety, the enemy, a Category B: Akumogani, appeared and crushed her skull in its vice.
As the giant ebony crab crawled out from the remnants of the block, the Wendigo from the other side leapt out, landing on another soldier, the one it had grabbed from before still in its clutches. Meanwhile, the individual Habunake slithered to each other and joined into a third Category B: Kraken. The trio surrounded the ministry's men and toyed with their fright. Some took to the front and created a perimeter in hopes the other artillery would be enough to fell them given the time to set them up. As the remainder of the team worked on that, their circle shrunk every second despite the endless barrages of ammunition being fired outward. Finally, four Type 92 Grenade Dischargers were up and loaded with custom salt-coated iron BB claymore grenades.
Before any of the rounds could be used, the Kraken took its multiple limbs to ensnare those of the ministry forming the perimeter, which freed the Wendigo to plow through and dismantle several of the weapons. In the disarray, the Akumogani managed to crush two more in each of its pincers.
"Regroup!" Sato commanded.
"I'm out!" One of the survivors screamed.
"We're flanked!" Another shouted, one other with him backed up against him with the crab upon them.
As they cringed, lying in wait for their impending doom, a chopper suddenly shot forward overhead. From its rear cargo door, a motorcycle raced out and down onto them. Two were on the vehicle, one driving while the other sat behind wielding twin pistols. All the while, the chopper's wings sprayed a blanket of holy water down to weaken the three.
"Natsuki, separate. Take Wendigo." The short-haired blue-eyed passenger ordered, diving to his right and rolling down the Akumogani's extended claw.
As he rolled onto the crab's shell, he saw Natsuki twist off the same claw, slamming the back wheel of her motorcycle down across the Wendigo's head. Buddhist text inscribed into the tire pressed against it, burning through the supernatural bonds that held it together. As she landed, she headed for the Kraken next. With a smile, he turned his attention back to the Akumogani whose shell had already been weakened couldn't resist the close-range barrage nor the shots to the eye. Before long, it had collapsed, as well. Turning his attention to the Kraken, he saw that Natsuki was having trouble, the great number of appendages posing significant difficulty for her and the bike's limited equipment.
"Tohru, I think I need back-up." She said through her com.
"It's like my favourite AV come to life." He joked, reloading his pistols.
"Tokumu 77, sortie. Tokumu 11, make another pass." A transmission from headquarters came in.
Shaking his head, Tohru locked both barrels and replied, "Roger."
Running in, he timed his arrival with Natsuki and waited for their air support. Once it hit and weakened the Kraken enough, he began firing at its core body while Natsuki ran interference on the tentacles, keeping them from retracting and holding back the shots. The tires began disintegrating them as it went frantic and the bullets began crumbling its main body until it was defeated.
"Signals aren't usual, are they?" Natsuki asked him, approaching after he holstered his weapons.
"No, something's wrong. Report back to HQ." He ordered, heading with her back to the chopper.
"We shall see one another soon." The Nurarihyon said, taking a bow before melting back into the shadows of the dilapidated house.
Yomi gave the spot a scowl, but was satisfied with his departure and sighed in relief at the silence that followed. Walking over to the broken frames on the wall, she began taking them down. The action was to physically remind herself that that life was taken from her already and she had found a new one. It was useless to run back to it because of unhappy spasms in that new life and she forced herself to think about the best outcome of it. She thought that she'd be taken in and accept her punishment from the Supernatural Countermeasures Division without defending herself and furthering investigations. The Isayama name could live on without tarnish and she'd move on, having lost anything that mattered to her from that family. Instead, she prayed Kagura would remain by her side. She needed her little sister more than ever.
Walking over to a counter by the stairs, she began dusting it off, lost in hopeful thoughts. This eventually brought her to an aged and torn photo underneath shards of glass. She lifted the picture and wiped away the thick layer of dust and flakes of ash. Looking at it, her mind flashed memories of her extraction from this home and how she came to be an Isayama. She remembered the joy of living that life, her loving parents, the Fujiwara lifestyle. Yes, despite being very young at the time, Yomi still remembered everything about her former identity as Fujiwara Yoshiko, only daughter to parents Mariko and Torajiro whose photograph she was currently looking at. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about the fate she'd been dealt and she began resenting the next stage, accepting punishment for avenging her father in order to preserve his clan's name, hoping for the little sister she always cared for, who she trained to become the powerful slayer she was, to take her back after what she did, and to start a new life again, not because she wanted to, but because now she had to.
"No…" Yomi mumbled, the tears dropping onto the photo, blemishing its fading image further.
She didn't want to have those hateful ideas plaguing her mind anymore. It was her rage that made her lose control on Mei. If she had just killed her outright, she would have avenged her father and kept her honour. Instead, she managed to terrify the only person who might have vouched for her and forced herself into this predicament. She was the Nurarihyon's Black Priestess. Overwhelmed by the revelation, she collapsed to the floor and shook with guilt. Could she be saved? Did she deserve to be?
"Yomi!" A voice cried out in the distance as someone rushed over to embrace her.
Yomi's watery eyes turned towards the doorway, now surging with light. Izuna Noriyuki leaned up against the wall beside it, his eyes soft and reassuring. Shifting her attention to the other, she felt Kagura whimpering as she held her close. She trembled from it, remembering the last time Kagura had been so vulnerable. However, she couldn't bring herself to comfort the girl this time. Before, she had merely considered Kagura shocked by having her own school's nurse attack her, but with what she did to Mei, she knew who Kagura really feared and didn't know what to do.
Yomi pulled away and backed off a few steps into a drawer at the far wall. While Kagura didn't understand her withdrawal, Nori began making guesses at what might be going through her mind. Her eyes stared unblinking, her body motionless, and beads of sweat began forming on her skin. If Nori had to make any hypotheses, there was much more to the Mei incident than just the fight and Kagura was also a part. Judging only on outward appearances, he believed Yomi was afraid that Kagura wouldn't accept her for what she did despite actually having good reason and there was just too much to explain to have done successfully. On the other hand, it could just as easily be the final onset of her psychosis.
"Yomi?" Kagura whispered, standing up and reaching out to her.
"Hey Yomi, can't you get yourself together already? Look at what you're putting Kagura through." Nori calmly teased, walking up beside Kagura and placing a hand on her shoulder.
To this, Yomi could only turn away looking down at the drawer and finding the Shishio she left on it. As if out of her control, she automatically took hold of the weapon and hugged it close. Nori, having seen this, pulled Kagura away and summoned his Kuda-gitsune to the front as a shield. He knew if Yomi had gone mental that bringing forth her Ga-rei of Nue was more than enough to topple them, but it did leave enough time and distance to trust Yomi to make the better move. With Kagura nearby, the chances were higher. He didn't want to lose his fiancée like this.
"Yomi, I believe you. I know you wouldn't hurt Mei. Tell me what happened." Kagura pleaded, taking a step forward and pushing against Nori's arm.
Caught in her daze, Yomi only looked up wearily, clutching her Shishio tighter. What did she want? Everything in her mind told her she wanted to walk to her little sister and stop her sadness like she had promised. However, there was a separate side to her now, something whispering to her beneath the surface that she couldn't run from any longer. It had been born the day she lost her real family. It was nurtured by the resentment she faced in her adoptive one. After losing her father to none other than the worst of those rivals, she knew it wasn't a dismissible stain anymore. Even so, she'd been independent with it all her life and, be it pride or self-consciousness, she didn't want to admit she had weakened.
"Kagura…" The name escaped her stoic front.
As a tear slid down her face, Yomi took a step forward and loosened her grasp on her sword. Kagura's eyes blatantly displayed her elation as she, too, took a step forward. Without a moment's notice, Nori lurched forth and grabbed the smaller girl, shouting something to Yomi about sensing a signal. Tremors erupted about the outer perimeter of the house and its degraded walls began to succumb to the force of it. Yomi called out to Nori to keep Kagura safe before she made her way to the nearest window and jumped through to the outside. Unfortunately, just as she made the distance, the walls came down and took the window with it. As a last resort, Yomi ducked into the doorway to the next room before the remainder of the house came down.
Once the rumbling had ended, Yomi found herself luckily near the top and free of any heavy rubble. Clearing the debris off her, she stumbled to her feet and began a haphazard search for her two companions. The dust was thick and her senses had been dulled from the trauma so her search was proving fruitless and she needed rest, but she couldn't allow herself to until she knew Kagura was safe. As she took a few more steps, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see a familiar face, short, black hair and light blue eyes in a orange and white uniform.
"'Give it up already', didn't you tell me that once?" Tohru said, putting one of her arms over his shoulder.
"Where are Kagura and Noriyuki?" Was her reply.
Off a few feet to the left came the sound of an engine revving and, as they approached, the shape of a motorcycle became visible. When they arrived, Yomi took a weary sigh of relief seeing the unconscious forms of Kagura and Nori. The cyclist removed her helmet and greeted Yomi, noting that she should take the three of them to safety, but Yomi was sensing now what Nori's Kuda-gitsune had warned him about earlier.
"Something's here. You'll need me to exorcise it." She told them.
"You're injured. It'd be best if you let Natsuki get you out of here for now. I can handle this myself." Tohru suggested.
"After what happened to Aoi? I'm not sure of your intentions. Believe me, I just went through the same thing."
"Listen, I'm n-" Tohru began to say in retort.
"Tohru, it's here, Category A. Do you think it's him?" Natsuki asked.
"Maybe, but I'm not going to take it personally. You two don't need to worry about me. Just get to safety."
"I'm sorry." Yomi muttered, her eyes no longer directed at him, "This is something I'm meant to deal with."
Throwing her a questioning glance, Tohru turned to what she was now looking at to see a woman with white hair wearing a pink and violet kimono and holding an umbrella to hold back the sun from damaging her dainty skin. Confused, he shared silent enquiries with Natsuki who replaced her helmet and readied her motorcycle for departure. Yomi glared at Tohru from the corner of her eye, a gesture showing him that she wasn't about to leave the battlefield, but her presence would allow Natsuki to make sure of Kagura's safe passage so he should take it.
"Natsuki, get them out of here." He told her, his eyes never leaving Yomi's.
Taking a few more moments to look at them both, she nodded though uneasy and left with her two passengers. Meanwhile, as Tohru looked on, he could see the focus in Yomi and her poise against the other woman, but seeing that other one was puzzling. If she was the Category A, she was incredibly calm and docile and it appeared more likely that Yomi herself was the evil spirit. The way Aoi had been before, a deranged and menacing zombie, that description didn't fit this woman at all.
"What is going on?" He asked Yomi.
"She's our target. I'll go in first. You keep me covered." She told him, her eyes never leaving Mei.
"My apologies, fellow slayer. Yomi is not well. After the death of my uncle, Isayama Naraku, Yomi became unstable. I'm here to detain her. Please stand down." Mei explained, bowing in respect to Tohru.
"You killed my father and fooled me into believing you were my loving cousin! I know you couldn't have survived our last encounter so what did you do?" Yomi seethed, unsheathing Shishio.
"You see, unstable. Yomi, this is the lie you've deceived yourself with to shade the truth. You were undeserving of the title to be the head of the Isayama clan. When you were told of your father's true intentions, as written in his own will, you lashed out, staged an assault, and nearly killed me. Even so, I am willing to forgive you if you can come to terms with your place in life."
"That's all it ever was for you, wasn't it? Nobody in the Isayama family could ever accept me except for my father and you were the worst. Uncle Yuu never did anything for his family until it came time to claim the inheritance it had. He didn't like the idea of an outsider in charge and you fell for every word of his claims that you were better. Stop kidding yourself."
"Yomi, nobody really had any negative feelings toward you. That was just your own insecurities telling you otherwise when all we wanted was to make sure you weren't thinking too much of yourself. In the end, you were an orphan saved by our leader, a charity case to be blunt."
"Ladies, what's going on here?" Tohru stepped in, voicing his confusion.
"Stay out of it." Yomi grumbled.
"Isayama business. Regretful you must take part in it." Mei politely added.
"Tell me what you've done, Mei." Yomi repeated, getting the topic back in hand.
"What I needed, which is more than what can be said of your recent actions."
"I fulfilled my duty as a good daughter. I avenged the murder of my father."
"Is that what you believe?" Mei sneered, "Perhaps you should ask him then if you truly achieved what he wanted of you."
Both Yomi and Tohru gave her questioning looks then, but their answer would come soon. From behind Mei within the still unsettled dust came the headless form of the late Isayama Naraku, the Akureika creature overlaying his head that he held in his right hand. Yomi noticeably stiffened and her eyes stared in horror at what had become of her dear father. Tohru could sense both the evil that now filled the corpse of Isayama Naraku and the growing anger within his partner. He couldn't be sure of Mei's intentions with this, but he knew that it was Yomi who was losing control. Regardless of his trust in Yomi due to their past history, his professionalism began siding him against her.
"What did you do to my father!" Yomi screamed, summoning forth Ranguren.
"I didn't do anything, Yomi. This is the end result of your thirst for power. You should have never laid claim to what didn't belong to you."
Rage pulsing through her entire body, Yomi could no longer find the control to speak and readied Shishio. Tohru shouted for her to stand down, but she had ears only to tend to battle, all other sounds drowned out in the din of war. As she raced to her intended target, she swiped her blade savagely, but ended up catching the Akureika instead as it dashed in to protect its master. Isayama Naraku's body was sliced in two, the coagulated blood splashing all over Yomi's form. Her heart sank and she shook with fright at her actions. She looked at the ground and saw her father's dismembered head, free of the creature, staring up at her with a weak and sympathetic gaze. She turned her attention to her blood-stained hands, horrified at the knowledge of whose it belonged.
"Look what you've let yourself do." Mei mused.
Her hatred returning and strengthened by her broken heart, Yomi flung herself into her cousin just in time to oppose the halberd blade she'd released as a countermeasure. Flipping back, Mei dodged the next attack, the flower she held in her hair coming loose as a result. As its petals hit the ground, the two clashed blades again, their feet coming inches from it. The force of their impact sent them back up in the air, obscuring opponents from combatants' views. Yomi growled at the interruption and leaped back to a safer position. Mei, on the other hand, took the flinch to her advantage, closing the distance and slamming her halberd downward. Yomi was surprised by her speed, given she had known Mei's skill and attributes for some time, but she reacted all the same, likening it to a simple adaptation to an unusual anomaly in the ministry's reports. Sidestepping the blow, she locked the weapon into the ground as soon as the first bits of debris popped up. Skimming the blade of the Shishio against the staff, Yomi moved in close to slice through her opponent. However, with the greater strength offered to her by the stone, Mei calmly flicked up her weapon and launched her cousin into a forward flip overhead. When she landed, Yomi found herself bracing the incoming horizontal strike to her right, the force of which knocked her several feet to the left.
Off to the side, Tohru bided his time to enter the fray, his gun aimed at Mei; however, his trigger finger wavered. All the while, the battle had been odd and his senses were detecting that Mei's output levels were well above average for a human, even a slayer, but nothing about Yomi's own behaviour allowed him the luxury of confirming Mei to be a target. He took his eyes off her for one moment to monitor Yomi, the doubts about her state of mind growing. He could hear his heartbeats getting louder as if sounding the guilt he felt. Steadying his gun, he tried shaking his head of the unnecessary thoughts.
Yomi resisted the urge, but had been slowly accepting that Mei was an evil spirit and could be dealt with with no restraint. As she gathered herself and dodged Mei's next attack, she moved to calling Nue, but two items had that plan stalled. The first was easily the unending assault from her cousin who had begun to advance. The second was her support in Tohru watching her every move. While she had seen Mei's broken and battered body haunting her memories as a testament to how dark she could go, but it was also the key sight to prove to her that Mei couldn't be as well as she was and Tohru hadn't been present then. If she unleashed her spiritual beast, it would give Mei undeniable evidence to show all second-guessers of Yomi's mental stability. It could turn Tohru against her, not to mention further Kagura and the Countermeasures Division's doubts in her.
"You seem troubled, Yomi. Are you beginning to understand just how mad you are?" Mei mused, jerking forward with her halberd.
Pulling back then lunging, Yomi replied with a huff, "I don't know what you did, but you'll slip eventually and I'll find out and expose you."
Mei's eyes narrowed in anger for a slight second, but quickly returned to glee, "But to do that, you'll need much more power, don't you? When that happens, you're afraid that pretty one standing over there won't waste any more time on you."
"I'm more afraid about the repercussions of what you did to yourself." Yomi frowned, readying the Shishio for another pass.
Taking a quick glance at Tohru still aimed but not shooting, Yomi formulated a new idea to make it through. If she had been capable of thrashing Mei to a beaten pulp before, causing significant immobilising injury just to eliminate her as a threat shouldn't be too difficult. A deep breath and settling herself allowed her to commit to the task at hand rather than the revenge ploy she was lured to earlier. She put herself on the defensive and carefully mapped Mei's patterns and surveyed her agility and strength. Following that, she waited for an opening like she would have with any of her assignments.
Tohru watched closely and decided that, as a proper backup, he only needed to shoot Mei if Yomi was subdued and Mei made a move to execute rather than apprehend. Part of him hoped he could have done more, but as both targets were human, it was too much a risk of using ammunition and too dangerous entering combat for either side with their armaments in play. Off to the side, he could see a familiar beacon of light and the roar of an engine and moved in that direction.
"Let's see if you can figure this out." Mei purred, kicking Yomi in her middle.
"Maybe I'll just take your head!" She shouted loudly upon recovery, her exclamation more of a gesture to mask her true intentions than true to its word.
"Haven't you realised it was that same rage that got you here in the first place?"
"You killed my father and paraded his corpse around yet still have the nerve to call yourself an Isayama. You actually still have the gall to claim the same position in our family that made your turn on it. I don't care how unbalanced and wrathful people want to believe I am. If it kills you, I'll still have done my duty."
"And be labeled an enemy."
"But know I honoured the Isayama name."
"Except in the logs and in all the eyes of that same Isayama name."
"Just die!"
However, despite her rough phrases, Mei's strikes were less honed and allowed Yomi to slowly and unnoticeably gain the upper hand. Each time they made a pass or clashed, Yomi tripped her opponent or weakened her stance by a slight degree. Mei's grip on her weapon slackened due to stress from continuing trauma to the staff, strikes that were useless for the killing blows Yomi's apparent state of mind should demand. Furthermore, Yomi was coming at her from less guarded areas with her changes in stance and held her on regaining footing motions instead of good offensive grounding. Eventually, Mei caught on, but also knew she was late in doing so. As a desperation maneuver, she skidded in a dodge and swiped her halberd low and wide in hopes of surprising Yomi. Her cousin saw the unsteady attack in its slowed pace and jumped it in time to come down with a stab, hitting Mei's palm successful. However, seemingly unfazed, Mei tore her hand free and used her single unwounded hand to launch her weapon forward into a stab. Though curious about the high level of resistance to pain, Yomi pulled to the side well and slid forward to stab Mei through her heart. Pulling Shishio out, Yomi waited for Mei to drop and take her much needed sigh of relief, but it wouldn't come. Mei remained standing and, worse yet, her injured hand had mended itself, a blood smear being the only evidence there was ever injury to it. Yomi's eyes went wide as she witnessed the mortal wound she'd produced in her cousin glow an eerie indigo light before closing itself. Mei smiled smartly, but then noticed Yomi sharing a similar look.
"The Sesshouseki." Yomi said lowly.
"So now you know." Mei smirked, revealing the glowing jewel embedded in her chest, "Yes, I took in the stone and it's going to help me be rid of you forever."
"You don't even get it and yet you wanted to be the head of our family."
Mei's eyes narrowed again as Yomi shook her head and explained, "The Tsuchimiya clan uses that thing to keep Byakuei under their control."
"Yes, and I'm going to use it to control other spirits, too." Mei exclaimed proudly.
"You still don't understand. They use it to control Byakuei, but its magic is poisonous. Eventually, the Sesshouseki drains the life force out of its user and turns them into an evil spirit. It's pure corruption and has a powerful miasma in it. You were exposed to it in such a weakened state, it won't take long for it to consume you. You're a Category A, Mei. And there's another reason I was smiling before. You just healed out in the open with other sensitives around."
"Yes, but they didn't get to see anything." Mei noted, pointing at the dust that had suddenly picked up around them.
"But how?"
"I have a few tricks about me, Yomi. You shouldn't underestimate the future head of the Isayama clan."
Yomi growled and equipped her sword, "Ranguren!"
As the massive beast came into being, the cloud of dust just as suddenly settled and Mei had two companions behind her. The two wore matching orange and white uniforms. One was on a motorcycle, her face shielded by a helmet and her flowing black hair freely fluttering behind her. The other had twin guns pointed at her, his face stern and unforgiving.
"Stand down, Yomi." Tohru ordered.
By this point, Yomi knew she was out of options. She was satisfied at finding out about Mei's use of the Sesshouseki and knew she could exorcise her without personal guilt, but the stone had its supernatural properties and had Mei a more than capable Category A being. Before she could fully harness the stone's abilities and become an evil spirit, she needed to defeat her. Otherwise, she might not be able to.
"Ranguren!" She shouted, bringing forth the Ga-rei.
Nue appeared over her with one of its massive paws covering her from view. As Tohru fired, his bullets were easily caught in its thick coat of fur and Yomi was left unharmed. Seeing this took him to the next stage of his training as he commanded Natsuki to move towards flanking position while he took off to the opposite side. Yomi anticipated such a move and allowed just enough time for Tohru to start moving out of the way before unleashing her spiritual beast.
"Houkoha!" She cried, readying Shishio for the next moves.
As Natsuki revved her motorcycle, Mei offered her a nod of reassurance in her abilities and flipped to safety. Accepting that Mei could protect herself, she sped off just in time to dodge the impact. She continued and circled behind Ranguren, trying to catch their attention or find a blind spot for her to attack. Yomi took her eyes to her movements for a while, but shifted her hold on her sword a bit and returned to Mei. Instead of becoming a possible vantage point for her, being behind Nue woke its snake-headed tails, which struck out quickly. Natsuki ended up more concerned with keeping at a safe enough radius from them than being a good flank for her partners.
In the meantime, Tohru tried keeping the beast off balance by firing at its sides with his guns. The shots were all absorbed with minimal results and bore no hindrance to its next series of Houkohas. Mei's heightened physical attributes made escaping the blasts quite simple and Yomi realised that its sheer size wouldn't allow it to catch a slayer of Mei's aptitude and it would be the resulting casualty instead. Therefore, she ordered her Ga-rei to interfere with her Ministry of Defence adversaries so as to free her to deal with Mei on her own again.
"Coming back out of cover, are we?" Mei mused, stabbing out with her halberd as soon as she located Yomi.
"Ranguren doesn't get to kill you. As an Isayama, only another Isayama should have that right. I'll take your body back to the Countermeasures Headquarters and have them analyze your remains. Your high levels of jyaki and the Sesshouseki should be enough to condemn you even for your father." Yomi explained, catching her step and pushing herself forward with her sword held out.
"You can try your luck at that, at least." Mei replied, flipping past her slash.
Meanwhile, Nue fired another volley of its Houkoha and forced Tohru to climb back onto Natsuki's bike to keep himself from the dangers of any further discharges. As they sped about the creature, hoping to find a weakness in its guard, Tohru was running low on ammunition. With both mounted on it, Natsuki wasn't capable of using her bike in its offensive capacity so once Tohru was out of bullets, they would be completely useless to Mei.
"Tiring?" Mei asked her cousin.
Having sliced several self-repairing cuts into her flesh, Yomi was realising how difficult it would be to actually defeat a Sesshouseki-equipped Category A, especially a fighting one like Mei was as a former slayer. Thinking quickly, she concluded that the only worthwhile strikes would have to be against the stone itself, to try and remove it from her chest. However, that was proving to be near impossible as the basic foundations of slayer combat training, or combat training of any kind, is to protect one's vital organs. Having no need to protect herself from most of those lethal wounds, Mei was in a position to concentrate all her defensive training on just the stone, expanding to other areas just for fun. Yomi's skill would eventually allow her to cause more successful hits on her cousin, but the stone's power healed her every time.
"You'll wear out far quicker than I'll die, Yomi. It'll be over soon."
Yomi ducked under a high swing of the halberd and stabbed Mei in her middle once more, but angled herself to give the scene the best chance at being seen by either Natsuki or Tohru. Turning the blade, she pulled it out of Mei's side, ripping a gash right through her abdomen. Cart wheeling back, Yomi took her foot to Mei's chin, then twisted with her other leg to wrench the upper half of Mei's body to the side. However, before the top of her form split from the bottom, the magic kicked in and pulled her lower parts back and mended into place while she flew. Worse, Yomi's earlier ploy had backfired with her current one. Having Nue attacking the Tokusen Shikai's top members made it quite unlikely that they would be focusing on anything besides the raging beast in their immediate vicinity.
"So sorry, Yomi. Your plan didn't work for you, did it?" Mei cooed in a clash with her cousin once she understood the fruitless assault.
"Maybe." Yomi said with an odd smile emblazoned on her countenance.
Noting their close proximity and the weight being thrown into their clash, Yomi suddenly split and dropped, the shift in her weight pushing Mei forward right into Yomi's waiting hand. As soon as the stone came in range, Yomi took hold of it and rolled backward, pulling her cousin into a roll. Pushing her off with her legs, Mei tumbled a distance away as Yomi returned to her feet. Cringing, she looked at her empty hand and the pain she felt in it. The evil in the stone was nocuous and stung at her humanity, evoking the same wretched thoughts she had been feeling earlier. When Mei stood back to her feet, Yomi grunted in dismay. What was she going to do?
Although her attempt to remove the Sesshouseki from her cousin had failed, Yomi's visage abruptly lightened and a smile crept back across it. There, hanging partially from her now bleeding chest was the stone, its dark aura fusing Mei's skin to it. In such a delicate state, the stone's power was no longer capable of holding the broken pieces of Mei's body together. As her injuries worsened, Mei became worried and her advances sloppy. Yomi dismembered her left arm, then loosed the other at the shoulder before having Nue leap forth and deal her a killing blow.
However, just as the spiritual beast descended, a brilliant glow emanated from the stone. Blinding light dampening her senses, Yomi leaped back to safer ground just before seeing the faintest hint of Mei's weapon looming toward her. Blocking it with the Shishio caused the weapon to explode as a stunned Yomi was bombarded with shards of the halberd, though there seemed to be far too many projectiles than could have composed the weapon. A few blue butterfly wings came into view right before Yomi's sight went black and she fell to the ground unconscious.
"Yomi!" Kagura screamed, the girl having woken during the fight and gone back on her search for her sister with Nori just behind.
She knelt beside the viciously wounded girl and cradled her in her arms, tears streaming endlessly from her eyes. Her voice was frantic and broken and she didn't know what she could do. Part of her wanted to try resuscitation, but the many punctures in her flesh made that likely a bad idea. She wanted Yomi back to normal and all of the recent horrid events to be erased, but that wasn't about to happen. All she could do was cry and beg the others to save her sister's life.
As Tohru and Natsuki arrived, Tohru immediately noticed the wings lying all over Yomi's body. From a quick survey of the injuries, he deduced that there were multiple incisions to all her extremities and a few to her chest and abdomen. Her right eye had been struck, as well, and so had her throat. With whatever had done it to her seemingly vanished into thin air, it would have been impossible to figure out just what actually caused the wounds, but the wings were a sure sign to Tohru of what, or rather who, had been the culprit. He grunted at having unwittingly aided in a scheme by the white-haired boy, Mitogawa, whose malevolence stole away someone Tohru had loved, his Aoi.
Nori and Natsuki didn't waste any time grieving over the situation and its outcome. Rather, Nori started checking vitals and cleaning her wounds while Natsuki called in for a recovery team. They needed to rush Yomi to a hospital immediately. It took five minutes to create a viable signal with all the damage about the area, two minutes to report, about ten minutes for the copter to arrive, and then they were on their way, Kagura crying over Yomi's form the entire time.
Elsewhere, in a damp and cold location, the dying body of Isayama Mei found herself immobile and fading fast. Her senses were failing her, but she could still smell the putrid air and seeing she was in an old and rotting catacomb. Mitogawa stepped over to her with a mild grin upon his face, his eye staring at her in a condescending fashion.
"Seems like your plan didn't go according to plan." He said.
With a barely functioning mouth and a severely damaged throat, she managed to mutter, "More power."
"More, you say? I'm sorry, dear, but you had your chance." He jested, revealing a new stone and tossing it up and down in his hand.
"Give it to me…" She growled, the air in her vocal cords draining roughly.
Shaking his head, Mitogawa leaned in close and kissed Mei on her forehead, "I have to be frank with you, you were only a stepping stone for me. I'm sure you felt the same way, but I couldn't have you getting your way, now could I? No, I have a new playmate now. Yomi and I are going to have much more fun. Sorry, but you're being passed over again. Thank you for being so good to me, though."
"Die." She mouthed, the last word her collapsing lungs could afford her.
Grinning more now, Mitogawa simply leaned back in and kissed her deeply before saying, "And so you shall."
With that, he traced his fingers from her navel to the stone hanging from her chest and retrieved it. Mei's body writhed in pain and twitched as her silent cries of pain, horror, and rage exhausted the remaining life left within her. Her injuries reopened and the pieces that had reattached or reformed fell apart.
"And now for your final act."
次回、喰霊-零-:
残酷扉－ざんこくのとびら－
GAREI -ZERO- episode 09
Translations:
復讐行方 － ふくしゅうのゆくえ －
Fukushu no Yukue
Whereabouts of Revenge
Kyuubi - Nine-tailed Fox
Nurarihyon - The supreme commander of yokai, taking on the appearance of an elderly aristocrat
honke – Main household of a family
Koratta – Rattata *Yes, it's a Pokemon! xD*
Yorunozuku – Noctowl *So is this one x)*
Habunake – Seviper *And yes, even this one. 8D*
Akumogani – Devil Crab
Akureika – Evil Spirits
次回、喰霊-零-: 残酷扉 － ざんこくのとびら－
Jikai, Ga-Rei Zero: Zankoku no tobira
Next Time on Ga-Rei Zero: Gateway to Cruelty
NOTE: Haha, yes, the Easter egg was introducing Pokemon-named evil spirits. I wonder if any of the lot of you got that one before reading my translations. x3