Chapter 14: Judgement

The contrast between Naoki and Chiaki was truly dramatic, Shikigami had to admit as he watched Chiaki take over Naoki's reluctant role as leader. First impressions had Chiaki as a natural leader – she exuded assertiveness and charisma,

In other words: out of the humans Shiki had met thus far in this particular Vortex World, it was she who appeared the logical choice to become the Hito-Shura.

But she wasn't. For whatever reason, the Light Bringer had passed her over. He had seen a critical flaw to her, some sort of vital character trait that Naoki possessed and she didn't.

Offhandedly (although he didn't actually have hands), Shikigami wondered if perhaps that character trait was the ability to be quiet for longer than twenty seconds.

"Kashima! Hurry up!"

"Chiaki. . ." Naoki began.

"I don't want to hear it, Kashima. I gave you an order!"

"But that. . " is absolutely fucking retarded. How am I supposed to find a shotgun in a place like this?

Where Naoki's "leadership" could be described as democratic at best, Chiaki's leadership was undoubtedly a dictatorship. Where Naoki was hesitant, Chiaki was assertive. She was a person who knew she could get her own way.

Except that her own way was absolutely stupid and deeply flawed. And this caused a problem.

Why?

Because Chiaki's great plan was to gather all the survivors together by blowing a path through the demon scum using the biggest guns they could find, then taking over Shibuya by force. It would then become an outpost, a place where any and all human survivors could gather. Once enough survivors had gathered, they could work on purging the entirety of Tokyo of all demonic influence.

Everybody stared at her.

The demons blinked.

"Well?" Chiaki asked. "Get to it! Scavenge for anything you can find – weapons, food, clothes, anything!"

Pixie began to chuckle. "A. . . haha. . . this human wants to take over the world!"

Chiaki glared at the fairy. "Do not laugh at me." She looked around at the other demons. "Well, don't just stand there! Do as I ordered, now!"

Naoki trembled. "Um, Chiaki, I think there' s a –"

"Shut up, Kashima!" Chiaki cut him off.

It was too much for the little fairy – she fell to the ground, rolling in laughter. "Ahahahahahahahhahaa! Oh man, I love this human!"

Naoki frowned and yelled at the top of his voice. "NO!" He suddenly found himself the complete center of attention – except for the Preta, still eating. Chiaki was staring at him, open mouthed, whilst the other demons looked on with looks that varied from complete boredom to mild curiosity.

Chiaki turned to him, momentarily shocked that he'd talked back to her. "Is there a problem, Naoki?" She said it with her best glare, a glare that said everything on her mind. There is no problem because my plan is perfect and I am superior to you.

"Ah. . .. " For a moment his voice wouldn't work – he knew what was about to happen, that Chiaki was about to get unbelievably angry and possibly even throttle him, that he was about to hurt her feelings and make her not like him. But right now that didn't matter, he had to tell Chiaki this, he had to warn her.

"Well, Kashima?"

"Ah. . . it's just that. . .that. . . ." it was hard going at first. . .but then he threw caution to the wind and glared straight at her. "It's just your plan is completely stupid!" Almost instantly he was downcast again. "I'm sorry…" Then he was back, standing straight glaring, looking her in the eye. With his shoulders straight instead of their usual cowering position, Chiaki discovered that he was actually taller than her.

"I can't just leave you here and abandon you to the demons, they'll eat you alive! We cant just simply wage war on all the demons we come across – what about these guys?" He pointed to his demonic allies.

"What about them?" Chiaki grumbled. "Any demons that agree to join us can join if they want – you're strong enough to kill any that don't."

"But I don't' want to kill anybody!" Naoki whinged.

"For a person who doesn't want to kill, Naoki, you did a pretty good job back in the underground. So stop whinging!"

"No! I'm not going to leave you on your own!" He stood his ground. "Chiaki – Ms. Takao said that I gained these powers to protect everyone. You don't understand-"

Chiaki scoffed. "You! Protect ME?"

In the background, Pixie began to laugh even harder. "Oh Satan this human's funny!"

Naoki was adamant. "Yes, me protect you. I'm, not going to let you out of my sight. If we're going to go scavenging and look for people, then we're going to do it together."

She glared at him with a look that could kill the devil himself, then spoke in her most icy tone. "Fine."

A tremendous explosion of black soot heralded Hijiri and Shiisa's less than graceful arrival in Shibuya, sending the both of them flat on their faces with rip roaring headaches. As they staggered to their feet coughing and spluttering, Hijiri was heard to mutter something angrily to his canine/feline companion.

"I thought they said you knew how to use this thing!"

Shiisa looked back at the human (?) with a pleased expression and barked. "What are you complaining about? We've arrived, safe and sound! Just like I said we would!"

It was as though Hijiri could hear his thoughts. "Don't look so pleased with yourself! It took us eighteen tries to finally get that stupid thing to work – And it was me who did most of the work! You just hung around and barked!"

In answer, Shiisa barked at him again. "I was giving you advice! It's your own fault you weren't paying attention!"

Hijiri shook his head. "Whatever. So tell me – is this place Shibuya? Remember, one bark for yes, two barks for no."

Shiisa barked. "It's Shibuya, all right."

"You're sure of it this time?"

Shiisa barked. "Yes, I'm sure. For real. I'd pinkie swear it, but I have no pinkies."

"Fine, but I'm not taking your word for it. Let's open this door, and then we can –" his voice trailed off as the door was flung open, wide.

"What was that noise?" came an angry shout from outside.

"An enemy!" Shiisa barked, his teeth baring.. "Pika. .. . " He leaped in front of Hijiri and fired a bolt of lightning through the door, far stronger than any the Pixie and Shikigami had thrown before. "CHUUUUUUU!" he yelled, purely for dramatic effect.

There was a startled yell, lots of flashes, a couple of screams of pain. And then the dust cleared . . . to reveal Naoki Kashima charging through the door, his teeth bared and fists readied. Behind him came all the demons from before, plus a Will O Wisp, a Jack Frost, a nice looking human girl. . . and a very singed looking Pixie, coughing out a small wisp of smoke.

"Oops," Shiisa smirked when he realized what he'd done.

"Oh, Don't worry," Shiki told him. "You didn't hit anything important."

"Hijiri. . . is that really you?" Naoki asked. They had been exploring the place, looking for food for Chiaki (aside from Preta, nobody else felt hungry, not even Naoki), So far, their searchings had revealed a variety of items, mostly for demonic use.

Acquiring food, however, had been a fair bit more tricky. A demonic apocalypse had a tendency to do that to you.

The main issue had been the Pretas. They were absolutely everywhere, eating absolutely everything in sight, whether it was edible or not. Worse than that, was the fact that Chiaki was hungry, but not THAT hungry. She refused to eat food that had gone off, was stale, or western.

Finally, through a minor miracle, Naoki had discovered a cache of rice. Raw, short grained white rice.

"Cook it," Chiaki had ordered, not giving them any real information as to just how they were supposed to do that. They were scavenging around, trying to find more information, when they'd heard a colossal crash in the terminal and had been sidetracked.

Hijiri smirked. "Last time I checked, yes it was, You seem quite well, Naoki."

The human girl with the group pointed at him, a frown on her face. "Is that the guy you were talking about?"

Naoki nodded. "Yes, it is."

"Jyoji Hijiri, ace reporter for Ayakashi Monthly, at your service!" He bowed at her. "The pleasure's mine."

Chiaki frowned. "Yes it most definitely is, I read your article."

"Ahhhh…" Hijiri smiled, now understanding what had become of his magazine. He should have known Naoki wouldn't read it. "So? What did you think?"

"Very mediocre," she critiqued. "Horribly written. I only read it because there was nothing else to read."

Hijiri sighed. "Any review is a good review, I guess. But damn, Naoki. . . I really don't know what to say! Did you actually come here, all by yourself, on foot!"

Naoki fidgeted. "Well, I wasn't exactly alone. .. I had allies." He pointed to his little band of demons. "I couldn't have come here without them."

"I'm not so sure about that," Hijiri told him. "Look at you – you're even stronger than when we met back at the hospital, and you're so strong you've got eight demons working for you! You must have gained some incredible power!"

Naoki blinked. "Actually, it's only five – Shiisa's with you and Pixie and Jack Frost are just here because of Chiaki." He pointed to the other demons. "And the others are only working for me because. . ." his voice trailed off and he turned towards them. "Why ARE you helping me, actually?"

The demons glanced at each other, wondering just how much they were willing to tell him. Eventually, they shrugged.

"It passes the time," Hua Po answered.

The other demons nodded. This seemed to be sufficient explanation for now.

"Want Eat!" Preta added at the end. He then whispered softly to himself, quietly enough that the others didn't hear: "Want help you,"

Naoki turned back to Hijiri, content enough with such a flimsy reason that he didn't pursue the matter further. "I didn't mean to leave you behind at the Hospital – I'm sorry about that. But how did YOU get here without the demons eating you?"

Hijiri smiled in answer. "I got here. . . " He pointed to the barrel shaped object next to him. Naoki immediately recognised it as the spinning drum he had seen in the Hospital – the one Hikawa had used to summon Baphomet and the one Hijiri had stayed behind to study. ". . .using this."

Naoki blinked. "How did you manage to carry that here?" He's stronger than I thought.

Hijiri grinned wider. "Ha, I'm not just a pretty face. I'm also really strong!" he chuckled to himself but quickly recovered. "No, kid. This pillar is identical to the one at the hospital, but it's not the same one. They're scattered all over Tokyo."

He patted the drum as though it were a treasured pet, his eyes positively glittering as he showed off his toy. "These things are not just pretty pieces of artwork – they're absolutely amazing devices!"

Shiisa barked happily. "He'd never have discovered these things without my help."

Hijiri glanced at the lion dog. "Whatever he just said, he's lying. Anyway, these things are known as Amala Terminals, created by Hikawa. They're all over Tokyo, all in different locations, serving as a huge transportation network, connected to each other by . . ." he paused for a moment. ". .. I'm not sure quite how to describe it – it's like a passageway or a different dimension. Using it, you can send anything to a distant location, instantly. So, to answer your initial question? I basically teleported here from the hospital."

"You. . . " Naoki was stunned, even despite all the crazy supernatural events that had occurred lately. "Teleported yourself?"

Meanwhile, an exuberant greeting between the members of Shinjuku Hospital Infiltration Team had been going on. When Shiki heard this bit of news, however, the mood changed abruptly.

"Are you INSANE?" He yelled at Shiisa, his composure momentarily shattered. "The Amala Network is not for transporting humans!"

Shiisa barked cheerfully. "Hey, it worked just fine, didn't it? No pain, no gain."

"I'm surprised the both of you weren't obliterated!" Shiki frowned.

Naoki ignored them – there was something far more important he wanted to know. "You said that these things were made by Hikawa?"

"That's right. Not only do these things transport people around, they also provide access to a wealth of information. I've learnt that there's a group in Ginza, vying for control of shaping this infant world, known as the Assembly of Nilho . .. and it's leader is a human. That guy's just GOT to be Hikawa. He must have designed these Amala Terminals before the Conception occurred, leaving them in place as some sort of groundwork."

Naoki gasped. "That makes sense. .. damn that guy! So this thing can transport me anywhere in Tokyo? As in, to where Hikawa is?"

Hijiri nodded. "I think so. Say, want to work together? I can use this thing to send you to Ginza so you can find information about that group. What do you say? It's risky, but it's better than wandering around on your own, right?"

Naoki nodded. "Right. Send me there." He paused for a moment, then glanced around at the others. "Uh. . .. if that's okay with you."

Chiaki stamped her foot. "No it's NOT okay! We are NOT doing this, teleporting using a spinning drum halfway across Tokyo!"

Hijiri shrugged. "I won't lie to you – it could be pretty risky over there. Ginza's not a neutral zone like Shibuya, so it could be in an all out war as we speak. But the procedure itself is perfectly safe. I tried it myself about eighteen times, and I'm still more or less in one piece. I can't really give you any more proof than myself."

Chiaki was adamant. "I don't care. We already have things to do and we don't need you or your child's toy."

Naoki turned to her and gave her a look of pure pleading. "Chiaki, please! If we find Hikawa, then we find Ms. Takao. She can help us! I need to –"

She stamped her foot again. "I don't care, KASHIMA! I am the one in charge, and I say we're going to find Isamu first!" She gave him her best glare, one that always enabled her to get her own way.

Not this time. Naoki glared right back. "Ms. Takao's stuck with a madman who destroyed the world and this could be my best chance of finding her!" He turned to Hijiri, grabbed him by both hands. "Send me there!"

Preta waved his hands, pausing momentarily from trying to eat Hijiri's hat. "Not good! Not good! No Eat!" A strange expression appeared on his face, a look of frustration. His simplistic mind was trying to say something that it simply wasn't capable of saying.

By a minor miracle, Naoki caught the meaning of what the Preta was trying to convey. "I don't care how dangerous it is, Ms. Takao's in danger! I have to help her!"

"Okay, okay!" Hijiri grumbled. "Just please, lay off on the clothes – I got these dry cleaned before the apocalypse and I'm getting the feeling I might not be able to dry clean them again!"

Naoki let go of him. "Sorry."

"Alright, how about this. I send you two at a time. That's how it worked before, so that shouldn't cause any problems" Hijiri looked around at the assembled group. "Okay, who goes first?"

All of the demons instantly pointed at the Preta. . . only to find the Preta already jumping up and down and shouting. "Me Pick! Me Pick!"

Pixie stared, dumbfounded. "He actually volunteered himself. . .? You must have hit him harder than I thought, Pervert."

"Gruah. . . " Bill O Wisp muttered. "He. .. strange. . . "

Pixie shrugged. "Well, whatever. I'll go with –"

Shikigami wrapped his tail around her mouth to shut her up. "YOU are coming with ME."

"Road trip! Road trip!" Kodama cheered. "Let's go together, Hua Po!"

Jack Frost smiled. "I volunteer myself to escort Lady Chiaki, He Ho!"

"Gruaaah.. ." Bill complained. "Wait. . . minute. . . who . . .come. . . with .. . me?"

"We are NOT doing this!" Chiaki yelled, feeling as though she was losing control of the situation. "LISTEN TO ME!"

Hijiri pretended not to hear her. It wasn't easy. "Alright. Once I send everybody, Shiisa and I will head over to Ginza too and we're figure out our next plan of attack." He smiled in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Let's get this party started! Alright Naoki, you're up first!" Hijiri indicated for Naoki to come over and place his hands on the drum. The Preta didn't even need to be told – it was holding onto the drum with its jaws, trying to eat it, it's small teeth luckily doing no damage to the drum's surface.

"Now then, let me give you a quick heads up on how to work this thing. First thing you do is look for a brightly glowing dot, which should be about . . . here. See it?"

Naoki saw it and nodded.

"Good – that's where you are right now. Any time in the future you're using one of these, just remember that dot is where you currently are. Now, notice anything weird about it?"

Naoki studied the dot. It was a faintly blinking blue dot in the centre of the pillar, surrounded by the runes on the drum, looking almost like a computer screen.

". .. I don't get it," he admitted after staring at it for a little while.

"Should we tell him?" Hua Po whispered.

Pixie shook her head. "No. It's more fun this way."

"Take another look, Naoki. Think about it – that dot represents Shibuya. If Shibuya is here, then. . . where is Ginza?"

Understanding dawned on Naoki's face. "I get it – it's a map of Tokyo!" That was right – the dot was in about in the centre of the little screen."

"Almost – it's a map of how Tokyo used to be. Obviously Hikawa built these things when everything was ordinary and normal. So, if this glowing mark represents Shibuya, then . . ."

Chiaki stamped her foot. "I'm speaking!"

"Yes, we know!" Hua Po told her. "SHUT UP!"

"Yeah, shut up, icky woman!" Kodama echoed.

Shiki fired a blast of electricity at the both of them. "She can't hear you, idiots."

Hijiri ignored the interruption. ". . .then this area . . .here. .. . represents Gnza. Okay? So all we have to do is press it . . ."

He gave a small area to the right of the Shibuya dot a poke, indicating the province of Chuo where Ginza was located. Almost immediately, the drum began to hum, the runes on its surface glowing as the drum began to spin.

"And there we go! As long as you're holding on to the pillar, you'll be transported off to Ginza! Good luck – and try to stay alive!"

Naoki nodded as the runes began to glow and spin faster and faster, making him feel dizzy. "Uh, I'll try."

"Want. . .eat. . ." the Preta whined, possibly feeling nausea as well.

"Oh yeah," Hijiri cautioned. "You uh, might get a teeny tiny bit of nausea, and it might be a teeny tiny bit a painful – but nothing you can't handle, right? Right. Okay, see you?"

Naoki nodded and turned his head to look at Chiaki, cringing inwardly at the look of pure fury she gave him. Desperately, he tried to crack a smile to cheer her up – but then the teleportation started and he vanished from the room, along with the Preta. It was as though he'd been sucked into the drum as it spun.

"WOAH!" Kodama shouted, greatly impressed. "He did a magic trick!"

"No he didn't, stupid!" Pixie glared at him. "Haven't you been listening?"

"How will we know when he's at Ginza?" Chiaki asked.

"Don't worry, I'll be able to tell," Hijiri reassured her. "Okay everybody! The drum will be perfectly safe to use as soon as it stops spinning, okay?"

Chiaki wasn't convinced. "Is it working?"

Hijiri nodded. "Yep, looks like everything is working perfe– hey, wait a minute. . ."

"Um – is that supposed to happen?" Shikigami asked as the previously blue runes began to turn red and the drum increased its speeding instead of slowing down.

Both Hijiri and Chiaki stared at the demon in shock, realization dawning on them that it had spoken in Japanese. They were so shocked that both of them completely forgot to check on the drum, and turned their outrage instead at the paper demon.

"Do you mean to tell me that you were fully capable of speaking to me properly all this time and you just –"

"We can talk about that later," Shikigami grumbled. "But in case you haven't noticed, the drum appears to be malfunctioning."

Hijiri glanced back at the drum, hearing it humming angrily like a swarm of demonic bees. "No, no, everything's fine, it's just a technical glitch. Nothing to worry about. . ." he swore lightly as blue sparks began to fly off the drum, setting his hat on fire. "Crap!" Larger sparks began to fly.

Kodama laughed and cheered. "He broke it! He broke it!"

Hua Po joined in. "Look at the pretty fireworks! Pretty fireworks!"

"Gruahh!" Bill O Wisp said nervously. "This. . .bad. . ."

"Hee ho!" Jack said. "Those sparks look he ho scary. Never fear, Lady Chiaki! I shall protect you, He Ho!" He jumped in front of her, shielding her from the sparks.

"Nothing's wrong!" Hijiri shouted as the drum began to spin so much it was dancing across the floor. "This is just a minor technical difficulty!"

"The HELL nothing is wrong!" Chiaki yelled back as she dodged sparks and a rampaging terminal. "Fix that thing this ins-"

The rest of her words were cut off as the drum began to whine, a tremendous whining noise that made everyone's ears bleed, but even as they were covering their ears there came a blinding flash of white light, a light so intense that it was as though Kagutsuhii itself had decided to drop into the terminal room and say hello.

Chiaki screamed in pain. "My ears are bleeding! Turn that noise off!" From somewhere she heard a voice, strangely calm. It was Naoki's. "Chiaki? Chiaki! What's happened? Don't worry, I'll help you!"

Even now, as her mind was falling into unconsciousness yet again, Chiaki couldn't help but snort angrily. What gives you the right to help ME?

Hijiri rubbed his eyes, struggling to see as the light faded. "Shit.. ."

He blinked a few times then looked around the Terminal. . . only to find himself completely alone, with not even Shiisa for company.

Zzzzzz. . . Huh, What? Who the fuck woke me up?

You who are about to enter my world, show me your soul.

What the fuck? Who the fuck are you? What is this shit? Why the fuck am I talking to a giant fucking disco ball? Oh, Fuck. This is the last time I pull an all out night cocaine, heroin and sake fucking binge… gives me fucking hallucinations. Hey – wait – WHAT THE FUCK are you doing! Hey! HEY! ARRGH!

. . . !

Wooaah, fuuuuuck. That was some weird fucking shit. . . it was like my entire fucking life just flashed before my eyes. That was fucking trippy man. Do it again!

. . .You are a sick, twisted individual.

Oh great, the fucking disco ball's a fucking philosopher. Yeah, so I'm scum. So fucking what? Who do the fuck do you think you are?

I am the judge of this world. I am Kagatsuhi. I am God's Will. And you have SINNED! You disgusting creature!

Yeah, sure, figment of my fucking imagination or conscience or whatever the fuck you are. You're fucking angry and think I'm a fucking bastard. Well, Fuck you too. Now, If you're finished pissing me off, then you'll just float off to wherever the fuck you came from.

You have committed unspeakable acts. Such an evil soul must be punished.

Yeah, you hate my fucking guts. I fucking get it! Now get the fuck out of my – WAIT WHAT THE FUCKING – OH FUCKING GOD WHAT THE FUCKING HAVE YOU -

DO NOT SPEAK GOD'S NAME, SINNER. CEASE YOUR COURSE LANGUAGE!

What THE ****. have you done to me? What the ****.is this ***? **** I've been turned into a *** monster! YOU ****, when I get my **** hands on your **** I'm going to *** your neighbour, *** your **** then I'll **** you in the ****. You *** hear me? **** Now I can't even **** swear! YOU ****** *** *** **** **** **** **** ***** **** PIECE OF **** *** **** DISCO BALL!

I have given you a physical body to match the colour of your soul. So have you been judged by God.

Great, just **** great. Alright, thanks a *** lot horrible nightmare, you've convinced me I'm an evil **** Yeah, tell me something I didn't **** know. Well, I've had enough of this **** nightmare. You hear me ****? It's time to ***** wake up! Lots of ***** to ****, **** to ****, so little time. . . These **** won't **** themselves, you know? Boy, will I be **** glad when I finally wake up from this ****…

This is no dream, sinner. Behold the nightmare you have created of your own accord!

Wait – what the ***! Why can't I wake up from this **** nightmare! What The *** is this?

Now, Go! And suffer in the world your black heart deserves!

Hey – hey, wait a minute, I was just kidding about **** up your ***, buddy! I don't like this dream, buddy, let me go back to the one where I was **** that **** in the alley with all my buddies. Hell yeah, that one was good. Hey – hey wait, Shining Disco Ball! Come back! Don't leave me like this! Come back! COME BACK! I don't want to stay like this!

Ah, ****. ****, this may be a trippy dream, but I AM **** hungry. Like, reaaaly hungry, like hungriest I've ever been. I want sushi. I want hamburgers. I want Pizza. I want . . .

". . . eat. WANT EAT!" said the Preta as he chewed on Naoki's left foot and blew a fireball, rousing the demi fiend from his sleep. Naoki grunted and whimpered, still mostly asleep.

"Just five more minutes. . ." he muttered.

The Preta frowned, blew another fireball, this one aimed more precisely. In the very next instant Naoki was up, flailing, having punted the Preta to the other side of the room,, his hands rubbing against his hair as fast as he could.

My hair! My hair's on fire!

It took several frantic moments for him to douse the flame. It was only then, as he blew on his hands, that he finally looked around himself.

Wait – WHAT IS THIS?

He was up on his feet, looking around, trying to make sense of this new situation. This wasn't Ginza – it wasn't even Tokyo! This was a world of utter blackness, punctuated only by red lines pulsing through the walls, the ceiling and the floor that gave his vision an unsettling red gleam. He could hear a constant whirring sound, almost electronic. More than though was the oppressive feeling of being poisoned.

This stuff, flowing everywhere. . . it's Magatsuhi. I'm . . .absorbing it. . . .

He didn't know HOW he knew, but he did. He looked around. It seemed he was in a corridor of some sort, a corridor with only one way out – forward, the path stretching off as far as he could see.

How did I end up here, anyway?

He remembered activating the spinning drum in the Terminal, getting sucked into it and then hurtling down a series of corridors similar to this one. Then something had gone wrong – lightning had arced across his face, a terrible whirring sound in his ears, and he had winced in pain then blacked out.

So does this mean that I'm in –

Hey . .. hey! HEY! Can you hear me!

A sudden voice made him jump at least ten feet into the air – no exaggerations. It was as though the voice was everywhere at once, booming and painful. But he still recognised the voice.

"Hijiri?" Naoki asked. "Hijiri, is that you?"

Naoki? Oh thank goodness, looks like you're still safe. Listen. . . I'm terribly sorry about this.

"What. . .what happened?"

Err. . .it seems I may have made a minor miscalculation in my studies, causing the link to fail. You're in the Amala Network itself.

Naoki sighed, looking at the Preta as it tried to eat the walls. "I see. Preta's here too. Is everyone else okay?"

Errr. . . it depends on your interpretation of 'okay'. I'm fine, thanks for asking, but Chiaki was sucked into the Amala Network along with you. Give me a minute. ..

Naoki waited.

Hmm, that's odd. I can't find her or her Jack Frost demon anywhere.

Naoki panicked. "WHAT?"

Calm down. Man, these terminals are something else! I can see you and where your path is and I can see pretty much every demon that's currently in the network. There's a hell of a lot of them – they're probably all trying to consume the Magatsuhi. In short: If I can't see Chiaki and Jack, then they're not in here.

"So. . . they could be anywhere? Anywhere in Tokyo?"

Not just anywhere – the network was linked only from Shibuya to Ginza. As she's not in Shibuya and not in the network, she must be in Ginza. So chill.

Naoki tried to chill, but was having great difficulty. "What about the others?" It was a bit odd, being forced to talk to a disembodied voice.

The other demons? Looks like they're stuck in the Amala Network along with you. It looks like everyone's alright. . .wait a minute, Pixie's shouting at me.

There was a short pause.

She. . . has a message for you.

Naoki blinked. "What is it?"

It is "This is all your fault, Pervert." In a slightly louder tone of voice, slightly censored. Yes, I think everybody's okay.

"That's a relief," Naoki sighed. "So, how do I get out of here?"

Well, the Amala Network is exactly what it says on the tin: It's a network, a link between two terminals. Where there's an entrance, there's always an exit. Just follow the corridor and things should be short and sweet. You'll run into all your demon allies on the way there, so everything should be fine in the end. It'll just take a little longer, that's all.

"Uh, okay. . " Naoki turned to the Preta. "I guess it's just you and me for now, huh?"

The Preta grinned. "Want Eat!" It said in a cheery voice.

Author's notes:

*Watches as readers run off screaming into the distance*

Okay, I admit, that particular flashback was a trifle bit heavy in the language. Sorry! This probably doesn't need to be said, but that actually wasn't a Naoki one – no, it's the first from our demon allies. It should be pretty obvious who it is.