Chapter 10: Choice
"RRUUAAAARGH!"
Naoki screamed into the sky, falling to his knees with tears streaming down his face. "No . . . no. . ."
NO! It's NOT TRUE!
Nothing but a dream. It was nothing but a dream!
During the fight with Forneus, the only thing that had kept Naoki going was the desire to escape the Hospital, to escape this hell. Even when he'd looked out the window and seen the truth, he had managed to convince himself that the cataclysm was confined only to the hospital and that once he escaped the hospital he'd be safe. Once he got out, he'd be able to leave the nightmare behind. He'd find other people, people to guide him – people like police, the army, adults.. He'd be fine, as long as he could find the others. Ms. Takao. . .she said she'd be his strength and guidance, right? So he'd survived. He'd fought through a hospital full of demons, done unspeakable things, allied himself with infernal beings, committed murder, all for the pursuit of a dream.
And now that he'd achieved that goal, escaped the hospital, all that was before him made his earlier nightmares pale in significance as his carefully crafted dream crumbled into dust.
There was no denying it now. There was no denying the Conception had occurred. There was no denying that almost every human in this world was dead. There was no denying the world had ended.
He looked around him, wildly. Before the Conception, this was a City, the city of Tokyo, a large city with equally large skyscrapers, with tree lined streets, cars and people walking everywhere. A normal city with the normal sights and the normal noises. Not a mere town, but a City, of thousands and thousands of people, the Capital City of Japan. The Hospital itself had been on a busy street, with an extensive lush green garden in front of it.
But now. . .
Now, in place of the city of Tokyo, there was only a desolate wasteland. Red sands, as far as the eye could see in all directions. The trees and grass were shrivelled and dead. Aside from a few scattered ruins there was nothing, not even the faintest of hints, that humanity had once existed here.
There was nothing.
NOTHING LEFT!
He collapsed to the ground.
His grandmother made good on her promise. When the police rang her up, called her and told her that Yuri Kashima was dead, she told them that he had no daughter and that they could go toss her grandson in the lake and drown him
Naoki never learned who his father was. He was born out of wedlock, nobody came forward to pay 18 years of child support, his only relative was his grandmother and she refused to have anything to do with him. Due to the circumstances, it was highly likely his mother didn't know his father either..
He was known as the son of a sinner – a prostitute, a street whore who had made a mistake one time and caused his conception. Too poor to hold a real job and addicted to methamphetamine, she had resorted to selling her body to the night in order to make a profit.
With no relatives to look after him, Naoki was sent temporarily to an orphanage. It quickly became apparent, however, that he was a boy with severe social issues. He had always been a quiet boy who preferred his own company to the company of other people, but after the trauma of his mother's death this character trait had gone to its extreme. Between the ages of five and ten Naoki did not speak a single word. Not even at night, in his frequent nightmares.
He didn't like sleeping. He couldn't bond with anybody – WOULDN'T bond with anybody. They shopped him around to different foster families, trying to find one that would stick, but it always failed. He was diagnosed with abandoned child disorder, resulting in severe feelings of guilt and a clinginess that bordered on irrational. He grew up sickly and malnourished, always eating very little. He hated crowds.
Alone. He was always alone. No siblings and no pets. He HATED people. Any person. When he was younger and didn't understand, this hatred would turn into violence. As he aged, he learned to suppress this aspect of himself. People didn't like it, and he wanted to be liked, even though he hated people. It was an odd feeling.
For several years, Naoki was known as "that dumb kid", due more to his complete refusal to speak rather than a lack of intelligence. When he wasn't called That Dumb Kid, he would be stuck with the stigma of being the bastard son of a complete failure of a mother. Her ruined life and eventual suicide hung around him like the skipping rope she'd used, tight and suffocating.
Eventually, however, he got better, healed enough to attend school, healed enough to gain friends, healed enough to pass primary school, healed enough to stay in a single foster home for more than a couple of weeks or months.
He had found healing through god, through reading the bible, through attending church and Sunday school. It was a strange feeling – he knew that God had punished him for not reading his bible that night, but God was nice enough to give him a second chance. Through religion, he had gained an acceptance of himself and of life. It had allowed him to move on, push through his trials. It was all merely a test. A test from God, and a true believer in Him would be able to find the courage and the strength to keep going.
But he had never fully healed from his childhood, only concealed it from view as best as he could. The medicinal drugs helped. Every so often, it would flare up, but he would self heal. Mostly through religion, sometimes through merely ignoring the problem until it went away.
Until he became a teenager and the storm of hormones flowing through his body nearly drove him mad. Human desires clashed with rational thought and suddenly religion wasn't enough.
Suddenly, it became harder to hide his troubles, no matter how much he distanced himself from other people. His current foster family was devoutly Christian to the point of extremism, hell bent on raising him to at least be a semi functional member of the community, preferably in some position in the church. They, like many, were very much against any sort of mental illness – they believed it was the work of the Devil. Naoki learned to hide his mental troubles as best as he could, but it simply wasn't enough.
His health and his academic grades began to deteriorate. Sure, Naoki had always been near the bottom of the class, an average student at best - but now he was beginning to show contempt for the class to the point of outright defiance. It was the influence of his new friend Isamu Nitta, a juvenile delinquent. Naoki was losing interest in classes, in god, in the future. He began to wag school. The foster family despaired.
Until one day when the tides of Naoki's life changed once again..
". . . There, that should do it."
A soft voice. Feelings of warmth, something he had not felt for what seemed like centuries. It felt double, triply good compared to the pain he'd been experiencing. It was as though his physical and mental pain had simply washed away. He could hear voices, but he was too tired to recognise who or what was speaking.
"Are you sure you did it right? He's not moving."
"OF COURSE I did it right. Look, he's even got an external barometer of his power level – remember how those markings of his turned red? Well, not anymore!"
I don't want to wake up. I want to go back to sleep. I'm tired.
". . .oh come on! This blasted human-demon thing!" He felt pain, distant pain now, as though something was tapping him on the head.
The voice came again, in between taps. "Why . . .won't . . this . . stupid. . .Pervert. . .wake. . . UP!"
Stop hitting me. Leave me alone.
"Hey, demon boy! Wake up now, or you'll regret it!"
He ignored the voices, tried to fall asleep again.
". . . Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you, Pervert. . ."
Pixie grinned evilly. After a long discussion with the young boy and the old woman, the five demons (six, including the Will O Wisp that Forneus had frozen just before the battle started) had gone off in search of their VID, or Very Important Demon. Fortunately, he hadn't wandered off too far – Pixie and Hua Po found him just outside the hospital walls, face planted into the red sand, wailing for mommy.
Meanwhile, the Will O Wisp, Preta and Shikigami had found something unexpected just outside the entrance of the main hospital. Deeply confused, they had dragged it all the way over here. This proved difficult – for one thing, the object they had found was heavy, and it was being pulled by a disembodied skull, a snake being made of paper and a small troll thing with skinny brittle limbs. For another, Shiki had been forced to fight a constant battle to prevent the Preta from eating it.
Now they were here, having handed their discovery to The Servant after healing it to full health.
Tense discussions had followed, but in the end, Pixie had given in and healed Naoki back to full health. However, nothing seemed to be happening.
Drastic action was obviously required. Fortunately, Pixie had spent several millennia alongside a certain blue and white demon who absolutely loved spying on humans, and so she had in-depth knowledge of humans that the other demons didn't have. Specifically, their weaknesses in regards to anatomy. And demon though this body might be, it was still human enough to share the same vulnerabilities.
"GREAAAH!"
Success. Naoki's eyes were open and he was awake, squealing, his sweet dreams of a pain free existence completely shattered as both hands shot to his badly singed groin and he rolled around on the sand. Behind him, Pixie gave Hua Po a high five.
"I told you! A well positioned lightning strike can do amazing things!" She turned to Naoki, who was still rolling. "Rise and shine, Pervert! The Master wants to chat to you."
Naoki stopped rolling, struggled to his knees, looked around, blinked several times In an attempt to make the nightmare go away. It didn't work. He was still in the same nightmare he had been in when he fell asleep.
What were who when Why?
"This is your first time seeing the new Tokyo, is it not?"
He whirled around, realized it was the old hag speaking to him again. Naoki snarled, remembering his anger. "Yes it is. Now leave me alone – I told you, I don't care what your 'little master' wants! GO TO HELL!"
The young Bastard, grinned, smiled, began to shake . . . then suddenly burst out laughing.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Naoki couldn't help but stare as all of the other demons laughed as well. Even the Old Hag struggled to keep a straight face.
Naoki snarled, unable to find the humour in the situation. "What are you laughing at?"
"F-forgive me," the Old Hag spoke, still smiling as her charge shook with chuckles. "My young Master merely finds you very amusing. Please keep it up."
"I'm not here to keep your Little Bastard amused!" Naoki shouted. "Leave me alone!"
The old hag finished laughing and shook her head. "Not just yet. My master and I are merely here to return something you lost, and to give you advice."
"Return something I lost? What the hell are you–" Naoki looked up, stared at the old woman, finally realizing that she was holding something.
Hey. Isn't that my . . .
"My Jacket? Why do you have my jacket?"
In answer, the old hag dropped the jacket onto the ground. As Naoki looked at it, he was suddenly stunned to realize that it was moving.
It's alive! No, wait –
It wasn't the jacket at all that was alive, but the unconscious person underneath it. A young human with brown hair . . ."CHIAKI!"
"We found it just outside the main entrance. Yours?" Hua Po asked.
Naoki wasn't listening – he was stumbling over to her unconscious form, kneeling besides her. "Chiaki – Chiaki! Chiaki, wake up! Are you alright?"
Why are you wearing my jacket?
"She is unconscious," The lady in black informed him. "Her human body sustained severe injuries from the fallen debris which we have only somewhat managed to repair. As a human, she will be completely reliant on you for her survival. Have you not noticed, Naoki Kashima?"
"Noticed what?"
"Look above you."
Naoki obeyed and leaned back, looking up at a sky of red and a massively glowing ball of light. This wasn't exactly anything new – he'd already seen the light through the windows earlier. But then he caught a glimpse of something, and he gasped.
"What the – What is –"
Chiaki had been wrong when she'd said the sky had fallen down. It was more like the land had fallen up.
The sky Naoki had thought he was looking at. . . was not actually the sky at all. No, to be honest, in this new world there was no sky. There was the sun, so bright it hurt his eyes, but behind it was land, the other side of Tokyo staring down at him, as though the sun was the core and Tokyo its cover.
How could this be?
The lady in black seemed completely unbothered by Naoki's disbelieving stares. "As you can see, Tokyo has been transformed into a circular world. That which is shining in the center of this world is known as Kagatutsuhi. It is an aspect of God – His Devine Will. It is what created this Vortex World."
Naoki could barely comprehend what she was saying. That thing is . . God? That thing was what killed everyone!
"Why did. . .how did. . ."
"Kagatushi's sole purpose is to empower the one who will oversee creation, the act of bringing a new world into existence which is only made possible by the complete annihilation of the old world. The shape of this new world to come will depend on who is chosen, and what their Reason is."
"Their. . . their reason?" Naoki blinked. Behind him, all the demons nodded knowingly.
"Yes. Did you not hear the voice of God? When the Conception occurs, Kagatsuhi will speak to those fated to survive, seeking their Reason, their ideas and desires. It will then recreate the world in that person's image."
"Recreate the – " Suddenly everything became clear.
HIKAWA!
It was like a light bulb had gone off in his mind. Suddenly, he understood completely what Hikawa had talked about it. He destroyed the world so that he could create his own vision of paradise!
What would a world according to a cult obsessed madman look like?
Not good, Naoki concluded.
The old Hag was still talking. "Listen to me, demon with a human soul. My master has pitied you, allowed you to survive a cataclysm all others of your race did not. As a demon, you are now immune to much of the hardships your friend will face. Your demonic body shall never age nor need for food – the Magatama my Master has given you shall take care of all your energy needs."
She pointed to Chiaki. "Those who are used to hardship will find it much easier to survive this world than those who do not. You have emerged into a world of nightmares and dispair, where your humanity is nothing more than a liability. Any and all humans that remain alive will fight for survival constantly. Not just from the demons that will seek to consume their energy, but from the light of Kagatsuhi itself which shall burn their flesh if they are exposed to it. In this new world, strength, whether it be of will or of body, is everything."
Naoki gulped. It's a nightmare. It's a terrible nightmare. To think that yesterday all I cared about was passing a maths lesson then playing video games. Now I'm surrounded by demons, I'M a demon, the world has ended and I'm fighting a crazy Cult Leader who wants to rebuild the world.
God hates me.
The young bastard whispered into the old Hag's ear. "Ah. My Master wishes to congratulate you on defeating Forneus. Now, absorb the Magatsuhi of the fallen beast and become stronger."
"A. . . absorb? No.. . no!" Naoki yelled, suddenly defiant. "I'm not going to do it!"
"Use the Magatama we have given you as a guide to absorb its energy. My little master demands it."
The young Bastard turned, pointed at Pixie.
"Alright," Pixie grinned, one hand behind her back. "I've been waiting for this part, Pervert Boy. Up you get!" Hua Po and Shiki came over and grabbed him by his hair, forcing him to his feet from where he'd been kneeling next to Chiaki.
Naoki looked up at her and glanced at her hands in horror when he realized they were enveloped in a red glow that looked rather ominous. "What are you doing?"
She grinned wider. "I got your Magatsuhi for you!"
The look Naoki gave her could have killed a human at 100 paces. "NO. You can't make me eat that crap!"
Pixie was not human and thus completely unperturbed by his glare. "Now say 'Ah!' "
Naoki growled louder. "If you think I'm going to eat your stupid Magat-whatsit, then you've got another –" Naoki yelped, his mouth opening wide and his hands bending down to grab the Preta that had latched on to his leg. "YEOW!"
At the same time, Pixie lunged forward, shoving both of her hands down his throat. Naoki panicked, began to gag, but Pixie ignored him and kept shoving. "SWALLOW IT!" she roared.
Naoki tried to say NO FREAKING WAY!, but it came out more as incoherent gurgle as he was forced to swallow anyway or risk death by asphyxiation.
"Good boy." She stuck her hands out of his mouth and watched him roll on the dirt gagging.
"I. . . ." He spoke between gags. "I. . . hate. . .you . . so . . .much!"
"Oh come on, don't harp on about it. Magatsuhi doesn't have a taste!"
It was true, Naoki realized as he stopped in mid roll. It was as though he had swallowed nothing but air. Nor did he feel any different. Not as far as he could tell, anyway. He looked back up at the Old Hag as the young Bastard whispered into her ear again.
"Oh – my little master, are we leaving already?"
The young boy nodded.
"Pardon me now, Naoki, we must be going, keep doing what you're doing now. My Master has given you a gift, it is up to you what you do with it."
She began to fade away.
"You can create a new world, restore this world to the way it was, or destroy it completely."
Naoki snarled. "No. .. no! You get back here this instant, you Old –" He got back up to his feet, ran towards their fading bodies, but he wasn't fast enough – the child and the old woman vanished from view.
Only the old hag's voice remained. "The choice. . . is yours. . . ."
Then there was nothing.
Naoki climbed to his feet, looked around, yelled. Loudly. And long. When he'd finally finished, he sat back down and stared at the ground in a state of near catatonia.
it was Preta of all people who finally spoke. "He. . .Kash. . . eee. . . ma?"
"It's a last name," Shikigami told the Preta. "Only humans have it, instead of their demon clans."
"Is he dead?" Hua Po asked,, poking Naoki in the back.
"Ruargh. . .no. . ." The Will O wisp replied.
Kodama sighed. ""So what do we do now?"
Shikigami glanced at their new half demon master. "We wait."
Is this. . .
. . .
"Is this Tokyo?"
The speaker was a tall white haired man in a red cape, a man who looked quite decidedly out of place in post apocalyptic Tokyo. For starters, he appeared to be human, but he had no trouble standing under the glare of full Kagatushi. For another, he was armed with a gun in each hand and an absolutely gigantic sword on his back. And the final reason? He was drinking a strawberry sundae..
"That is correct. We are in the City of Tokyo that has been transformed into a Vortex World due to the Conception."
He was speaking to an unusual couple as well – an old man, sitting in a wheelchair, and a young woman, dressed in black, with a veil covering the top half of her face. The old man had not spoken a single word – all of the negotiations had been done by his nursemaid.
"Huh. Nice place. Not exactly the place where you'd expect to find sushi, though."
That was sarcasm – the place was a colossal crap heap, little more than a barren wasteland. No people, no geisha = hell. Sure, there were a couple of lilims and succubi around but. . . they weren't his type. He'd learned THAT lesson a fair while ago.
With nothing else to do, he was forced to concentrate on his mission. "So, let's get this party started. Where is this immensely powerful demon that threatens to destroy the world, how do I find it, and how do I kill it?"
"His whereabouts are currently unknown, " the pretty lady admitted. "However, you will be able to find him . .. using this." Where just a second ago her hand had been empty, it suddenly held what looked to be a . . . candelabra? No – it was a Jewish menorah. "As for its destruction . .. well, I'm sure I don't need to advice you on how to do your own job."
Well, this is a new one.
He holstered his Ebony gun and took the Menorah, swung it like a weapon a couple of times. "A menorah? What am I supposed to do with this thing, burn your immensely powerful Hito Shura in the ass? Bang him over the head with it?"
The menorah made a poor weapon, sure, definitely no comparison to his Rebellion Claymore, but there was something funny about it as it happened to be on fire. And no matter how much he swung the thing, the flames wouldn't go out. Nor, when he experimentally held it to his finger, did it burn his hand or his cape. That was surprising but handy. "Huh. What's with this thing?"
"Its flames will flicker when you are in close proximity to the one you seek."
"Oh. So what, I'm supposed to use this thing as a dowsing rod?" He scoffed. "Great. So I just wonder around with this highly flammable thing, until I accidentally run into this guy? I don't even know my way around this place!"
"We will give you a guide." The chick continued.
"Oh that's reassure. . . " his voice trailed off when he realized the young woman was holding something in her arms. He was positive her hands had been empty before.
How DOES she do that?
"Hey, isn't that a kid?"
"He was a friend of the demon before it revealed its true self. Keep him safe, because he has a great destiny to play in this new world."
This wasn't part of the deal!
"What – so I have to baby sit a kid, while at the same time carrying a menorah, two guns, a sword and my sundae? I've only got two arms, you know!" He took a slurp from said sundae.
The chick sighed. "I'm sure you'll figure something out. You ARE supposed to be a famous demon slayer, after all."
The moment she'd finished speaking, she vanished into thin air, as did the wheelchair bound man. He was left with only his weapons, his wits and a whelp with wide eyes who was whining.
". . . Bah. That old guy. . . what a client. This is going to be one tough job .. ."
In all of his dealings with demons, he hadn't heard of a Hito-Shura before. Hmm. . . the name suggested 'a monster in human form'. Did that mean this kid was like . .. ?
He sighed. "Oh well, time to get to work." He turned to the kid, examined him. He was a young man, couldn't be older than fifteen or sixteen, waring a nice hat and muttering.
" . . .Naoki . .. Naoki. . . . what ha. . .what happened to you. . . why did you. . ."
Naoki? Sounds Japanese.
"Look a little shell shocked, don't you. Hey, kid - – what's your name?"
For a few seconds it looked like the kid hadn't heard him – but then he turned around and whispered a name. "I-Isamu. Isamu Nitta."
The foreigner smirked as he finished the last of his strawberry sundae. "Well, hi there Isamu, My name is. .. "
"Naoki? Hey, Naoki! Stop spacing out!" The Pixie hit the boy in the head and sighed when he didn't respond.
"When I said we wait," Shikigami muttered. "I meant we'd wait longer than five minutes, fairy."
"Yeah!" Hua Po growled. "If you're so impatient, then you can just fly off by yourself and save us the irritation of having to listen to you!"
"Huh! And miss out on the free Magatsuhi and power upgrades! Not a chance!" She snorted. "You just want to keep Lucifer's reward for yourself. Besides, that pervert owes me!"
She turned as Naoki finally snapped out of his state and struggled to his feet. "FINALLY. Let's go, let's go!" She grabbed him by an arm and began to pull.
Naoki staggered to his feet, physically in perfect health but mentally exhausted. He greeted this sensation like an old friend. This feeling of simply wanting to collapse to the ground and drop dead was one he had felt many times before. Like always, he would momentarily visualise an overly idealistic scenario: his body falling to the ground in a peaceful, painless death, his spirit rising up to the sky, surrounded by glorious angels who would greet him and hug him and take him to heaven.
But then, as always, his rational mind would inform him that vision was nothing but a fantasy, especially in this new reality. The glorious angels would most likely toss him down, all the way to the other place and force him to live out eternity with rapists, terrorists and dentists. And death was rarely peaceful and even more rarely painless.
So, just like every other time he'd felt this way, he rose again to his feet, put his troubles to one side and tried to figure out what to do next, forgetting about overly idealist scenarios and trying to deal with the here and now. In this case, it was the question of what to do with Chiaki.
He pointed to her as she lay on the ground, face covered by his jacket. "Has. . she woken up yet?" He asked the other demons.
Shikigami shook his head. "No."
"She didn't even move when I set her hair on fire!" Hua Po helpfully added. "I'd say this human is out for the count!"
"Dead to the world!" Kodama cheered.
"Want eat," Preta whinged.
"I see. Um, about before. . . I'm sorry for lying.." Naoki muttered. "I should have told you the truth, I was just –"
"Yeah, we know!" Hua Po said cheerily. "We eat humans for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and we were going to eat you too . . . but you're half Fiend, so we'll make an exception."
". . .Fiend?" Naoki was confused.
"Yep, Naoki of the Fiend Clan. Congratulations, you've got an actual demon name now!"
"We never would have guessed you as a Fiend," Shiki admitted. "If you'd just gone and told us the truth, we would have just killed you where you stood. "
"Yeah, yeah," Pixie grumbled impatiently. "Can we go to Yoyogi Park, already?"
"No," Shikigami frowned. "That's not a good idea."
Pixie frowned. "WHAT! Why not?"
Shiki turned to Naoki. "Yoyogi Park is an open area with little shade. I presume, Naoki, that you wish to take this human with you?"
Naoki nodded.
"Then, you will need to keep her safe. Not just from demons, but also from Kagatsuhi's light. That is something that will be extremely difficult to do in a place like Yoyogi Park."
"Yeah, whatever paper boy." Pixie tapped her foot. "So, where do you suggest in your great wisdom?"
"To Shibuya. Its not far from here and its underground, which will protect the human from Kagatsuhi. Moreso, Shibuya is the designated neutral area of this world. It's not completely safe for a human . . ."
". . . but it's as good as things will get," Pixie tapped her foot faster. "YEAH! I figured that out. Who cares! We're going to Yoyogi Park!" She began to pull Naoki's hair in the park's direction. "Let's get going, already! I'm late and all the Magatsuhi is probably gone by. . . hey, Naoki! LISTEN!"
Naoki wasn't listening. He was stooped over Chiaki, carefully positioning his jacket over her to cover as much of her as he could. He was already able to see where the sun had burnt and blistered her skin, causing open sores that were irritated by the sand. Yes. Shikigami's idea sounded best.
"Um . .. I'm really sorry, Pixie," Naoki apologised. "But. . . I really need to make sure Chiaki's safe, and Yoyogi Park is out in the open, and . . ."
Pixie cut him off. "We. Are. Going. To. Yoyogi. PARK!"
"Want eat!" said the Preta, pointing at Pixie.
"Go ahead," Hua Po told him. Gleefully, the Preta charged, but unfortunately he went straight past Pixie and kept going, leaping into the air then coming down, mouth open, upon a disembodied purple skull.
"GRuuah! Help . . .me!" It screeched.
"Oh yeah," Kodama remembered. "We found a new friend – we call him Bill. Bill O the Wisp."
"Actually, he's WILL O the wisp, but Bill's good too." Hua Po corrected.
"Is he . . . on our side?" Naoki was hesitant – he'd already killed a whole of the purple skulls, so he didn't think any of them would be willing to come with him on his wanderings.
"Yup," Hua Po answered. "He used to be a subordinate of Forneus, but since you kicked the ray's arse he's switched sides. Besides. . . " she grinned evilly. "We told him that if he refused we'd feed him to the Preta."
A long moan came from inside the Preta's mouth. "Grrruuuuh . . .But. . . .I . .. Agggggg…..reeeeed!"
"You're a ghost!" Hua Po yelled back. "He can't kill you, you're already DEAD! Why don't you just phase through his stomach?"
"Great, just great," Shikigami muttered. "Yet another irritant to add to our little band. So, Naoki. Where are we going?"
"We're going to –" Pixie's voice was cut off by Hua Po clapping her hand over her mouth. "Nobody asked you!"
Naoki sighed, and moved to pick Chiaki up onto his back, almost as though he were giving her a piggy back ride. He looked around for anything familiar so he could plot the way. ". . . Damn. I can't even tell where Shibuya is now…"
"We will guide you, Naoki of the Fiend," Shikigami informed him. "Kodama knows the way to Shibuya, and Hua Po's ability to fly shall allow her to scout from above."
"You. . . you're really going to . . .help me?"
"We are."
Naoki went a little pink in the face. "Um. . . thanks."
"Great," Pixie snarled, freeing her mouth from Hua Po's hand.. "If he's not apologizing, he's being grateful. Bah. Whatever. FINE! But I'm not letting you off escort duty THAT easy! I'm going with you. "
Hua Po and Kodama groaned in unison. "Do you HAVE to?"
Author's Notes
And so we've finally made it out of the Hospital after over 60,000 words, 10 chapters, 20 reviews, 972 hits and 341 visitors. Yippee!
A big thankyou to:
Lupus-Cantus-Grimoure, 741852AuthorNicolaStarlaLili (You're still reading? I thought you'd been scared off by the course language!), Foxgirl2501, The Man Who Has No Life , DarkFlareFox, Hades378 and Damien Black. That's everyone, right? *Fingers crossed*
By the way, I honest to goodness hope that I got our red caped silver haired cameo character correct. I basically went along "Arrogant Badass Wise cracker" lines, which couldn't really be further from Devil May Cry 2, but it seems to be his accepted character. If I messed up, someone let me know.